Democracies expect citizens to engage actively in public life by making decisions about political issues that are frequently ambiguous, with strong moral and emotional implications, and often subject to misinformation and manipulation. Strong critical thinking (CT) appears therefore as a crucial component of a reflective democratic citizenship.…

Media literacy encourages the construction of critical thinking and stimulates skills that foster a constructive attitude and use of media and information and communication technology. In recent years, programmes have been developed in educational contexts with the aim of promoting the construction of media literacy in adolescents. In the present…

While educational technologies are often considered a panacea for improving K-12 teaching and learning, they frequently produce unintended or problematic effects. Consequently, preservice teachers (PSTs) must be prepared to think critically, or "technoskeptically," when making decisions about the technologies they use in their future…

Enhancing students' civic literacy is considered an essential educational goal in the 21st century. Therefore, in the teaching process, how to provide students with opportunities to solve problems and how to provide immediate feedback to help students make correct decisions when facing real problems are important and challenging issues. Digital…

Learning by Evaluating (LbE) is an instructional approach that involves students making comparative judgements of pairs of artifacts, such as student work, portfolios, prototypes, or curated images related to a topic of instruction to enhance critical thinking and decision-making skills. Situated as a primer for learning, the efficacy of LbE stems…

Team-based learning (TBL) is an instructional strategy where students participate in a set of activities including, applying course concepts to real-life case studies in instructor-selected teams. Here, we describe how TBL has been incorporated into a 3rd year, large, environmental chemistry course and investigate the benefits of using this…

This article examines the place of ijtihad in the British Religious Education curriculum. It argues that the concept should be taught to high school students earlier than A-Level. Knowledge of ijtihad enables students to understand diversity of thought and legal interpretation in Islam, and why different conclusions can be reached from the same or…

The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) dialogue systems within educational and research settings highlights the importance of learning aids. Despite examination of the ethical concerns associated with these technologies, there is a noticeable gap in investigations on how these ethical issues of AI contribute to students'…

It is often argued, rightly, that critical thinking is a necessary condition for democracy. This essay looks at the other side of that relationship, how certain democratic conditions are necessary for critical thinking to flourish. In turn, this dynamic, interactive account of democratic culture, institutions, and dispositions has implications for…

The ability to think mathematically critically is essential in learning as it helps students to think rationally in making decisions and formulating conclusions, as well as choosing the best option for themselves. In fact, PISA results in 2022 and TIMSS results in 2015 show that students' critical thinking skills are not optimum. Therefore, the…

Metacognition refers to the capacity to comprehend and manage one's own cognitive processes, enabling the recognition of biases and presumptions that might influence them. Numerous published studies indicate that through metacognition, enhancements in critical-thinking skills allow individuals to query information, assess data, and make more…

When life (society) changes rapidly and drastically, school (education) must change accordingly. However, not all changes are good and beneficial for society, so schools must also think critically and work with a time lag that allows for critical reflection and the search for more rational and optimal solutions. Teachers remain essential in the…

In the last decades, science literacy has been progressively emphasised as an aim of science education. However, the science education literature does not present a consensus about both the meaning of science literacy. By studying such literature, we identified some of these aspects that may also be relevant for promoting students' critical…

Educational escape rooms are beneficial for student learning as it relates to critical thinking, decision making under time constraints and practical exploration of real-life work scenarios. This type of learning experience is beneficial across many disciplines with emphasis for healthcare management due to the dynamic nature and common pressures…

This study explores the practical implications of the paradox of moral education, focusing on how Swedish social study teachers (civics, geography, history, and religious education) navigate conflicting responsibilities to convey values and facilitate critical thinking when addressing controversial issues in their classrooms. Through qualitative…