Critical thinking--evaluating and analyzing data to make informed judgments--is essential in both the classroom and everyday life. Teaching critical thinking skills in the elementary grades is often an afterthought--if it's a thought at all. Veteran primary teacher and instructional leader Erin Shadowens proposes that students of all ages benefit…

Drawing on the thinking behind the Humanities 20:20 initiative, this article explores why the humanities are so important in a balanced and broadly based primary curriculum, arguing that, well taught, they provide an essential basis for how children learn to become critical thinkers and active citizens. This does not just involve teaching history,…

Background: Although there is an increasing recognition of the importance of critical thinking in science education across the world, the relevant research literature is extremely thin. There is an urgent need to generate more empirical evidence. Purpose: We examined two essential issues concerning critical thinking (the relationship between…

Critical thinking skills and creativity have been lauded by many as key attributes sought from prospective employees for the future workplace in an ever changing world. Furthermore, a review of existing literature suggested the prevalence of critical thinking skills within design and technology (D&T) tasks. This study aimed to garner the…

Through the use of puppetry with objects as an educational strategy, the Chilean Theater Company PerroBufo, specializing in linking theater with education, is developing a case study in Primary education. The goal is to assess how boys and girls, through a process of creating puppets with objects, are able to reflect on identity and gender…

Student engagement in the process of transduction concomitantly affords them with opportunities to develop and express their critical and creative thinking competences. Reconfiguring or remaking knowledge or meaning in modes other than those of the original sources of information requires affective, imaginative and cognitive activity by…

This article discusses the personal stories of Dutch novice teachers, explicating their internal moral dialogues about their daily work in primary schools. Aside from their didactical work, novices must address sociocultural frictions in school, which seems too little or not developed in teachers' initial education. Using an interview protocol at…

Communities have their own set of cultural values that make their way into their classrooms and serve as criteria for the labeling of "insider" or "outsider." This article describes how critical empathy can allow the barriers between these constructs to be broken down as students are given the chance not only to listen but to…

Background: Critical thinking (CT) has been identified as one of the key skills in the modern world. Despite a variety of CT assessment systems for secondary school and higher education, there is a shortage of CT assessments for children. Aims: To fill the gap, we developed a computer-based performance assessment (CPBA) of CT with automatic…

This dissertation delves into the dynamic interaction between picturebooks, culture circles, and social justice discussions in a second-grade classroom. Rooted in Critical Pedagogy, Transactional Theory, and Indigenous Social Justice Pedagogy, this study investigates two pivotal aspects. Firstly, it explores the issues raised by students in…

This study aimed to determine the relationship between primary school students' critical thinking and entrepreneurial tendencies. The relational screening model was used. Three hundred seventy-three primary school students participated in the research. The data were collected with the "Critical Thinking Tendency Scale for Primary School…

Background/purpose: This study evaluates the implementation and impact of the Merdeka Curriculum in music education at SMP Negeri 1 Padangpanjang, focusing on fostering creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration through a flexible and experiential approach. The curriculum faces challenges, including limited teacher training and inadequate…

No higher-order skill will be more important for pupils to develop in the twenty-first century than critical thinking. Schools should integrate it into their curricula, thereby allowing students to acquire new skills in preparation for a dynamic and rapidly changing labour market. Educators, psychologists, and philosophers agree on the importance…

The purpose of this current explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore the perceived abilities of teaching critical thinking as reported by teachers and the actual lived experiences of classroom teachers within the elementary classroom. Kindergarten through fourth grade elementary teachers completed the Critical Thinking in the…

This study investigates the way a kindergarten teacher implemented a three-stage project to support children's map understanding. The project, the Map and Play, was designed to help children understand the relationship between reality and its abstract representation. The guided play was adopted as the pedagogical approach because it empowers…