The Relevance of Critical Thinking from the Perspective of Professional Training

Authors

  • Rarita Mihail Dunarea de Jos University of Galati

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18662/po/13.2/468

Keywords:

Thinking, critical thinking, education, socio-constructivism, professional training

Abstract

In today's complex world, influenced by information bombardment and rapid technological development, professional training cannot remain limited to the idea of passing knowledge. There is a need to shift the students’ view towards the true spirit of research, which targets the scientific thought on certain social phenomena, and to form critical thinking skills to produce effective individuals in the current labour market, who not only receive information, but go further and analyze problems in the workplace, presenting solutions to identified problems and applying these solutions in concrete situations. For this reason, critical thinking is considered a top skill, being highly appreciated by the business world and organizations. But to think critically is a capacity that does not develop by itself, it must be practiced and encouraged in a correct learning environment. Critical thinking has become one of the most important educational goals, which must be achieved by the different educational institutions through all the programs studied by students in the different educational cycles, but also by students in the university environment. Starting from this, this article analyses the types of specific actions which target the introduction of the abilities of critical thinking in the training activities in Romania, and in society in its entirety, by identifying the setbacks encountered, and the limits of such an endeavour.

Author Biography

Rarita Mihail, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati

participare la conferinta NASHS2020

References

Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Waddington, D. I., Wade, A., & Persson, T. (2015). Strategies for Teaching Students to Think Critically: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 275-314.

Aliakbari, M., & Sadeghdaghighi, A. (2011). Investigation of the relationship between gender, field of study, and critical thinking skill: the case of Iranian students. Proceedings of the 16th Conference of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics. The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Aliakbari, M., & Sadeghdaghighi, A. (2013). Teachers´ Perception of the Barriers to Critical Thinking. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1-5.

Apostu, I. (2016). Familia românească. Evoluție socială și provocări contemporane [The Romanian family. Social evolution and contemporary challenges]. Tritonic.

Astleitner, H. (2002). Teaching Critical Thinking Online. Journal of Instructional Psychology. Vol. 29, No. 2, 53-76.

Baillargeon, N. (2016). Propos sur l’éducation : Essais, portraits, chroniques, aveux, convictions, espérances… M Éditeur.

Barnett, R. (2015). A Curriculum for Critical Being. In M. Davies, & R. Barnett (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education (pp. 63-76). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Baron, J. B., & Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. WH Freeman/Times Books/Henry Holt & Co.

Butler, H. A., & Halpern, D. F. (2020). Critical Thinking Impacts Our Everyday Lives. In R. J. Sternberg, & D. F. Halpern (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Psychology (2e édition, pp. 152 172). Cambridge University Press.

DiCarlo, S. E. (2009). Too much content, not enough thinking, and too little FUN! Advances in Physiology Education, 33(4), 257-264.

Dumitru, D. (2017, May). What employers think about critical thinking? Preliminary research report. Paper presented at the 6th International Conference EdProf 2017: Professionalism in education, Romania. Bucharest: Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

Ennis, R. H. (1964). A definition of Critical Thinking. The Reading Teacher. 17(8), 599-612.

Ennis, R. H. (1987). A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities. In J. B. Baron, & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and practice (pp. 9-26). New York (NY) : W.H. Freeman & Co.

Ennis, R. H. (1993). Critical Thinking Assessment. Theory Into Practice, 32(3), 179-186.

Ennis, R. H. (1998). Is Critical Thinking Culturally Biased? Teaching Philosophy, 21(1), 15 33.

Ennis, R. H. (2018). Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: A Vision. Topoi 37, 165–184.

European Commission, Comunicare a Comisiei către Parlamentul European, Consiliu, Comitetul Economic și Social European și Comitetul Regiunilor privind o nouă agendă a UE pentru învățământul superior, 2017, Bruxelles, 30.5.2017 COM(2017) 247 final.

Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction: The Delphi Report. California: California Academic Press.

Fennimore, T. F., & Tinzmann, M. B. (1990). What is a Thinking Curriculum?. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Oak Brook.

Fraker, D. M. (1995). Improving High School Students’ Critical Thinking Skills [Dissertations Theses]. M. A. Practicum, St. Xavier University.

Franco, A., & Almeida, L. S. (2015). Critical Thinking in College: Differential Analysis by Academic Year and Scientific Area. In C. Dominguez (Ed.), Critical Thinking in Education: Actual Challenges (pp. 25-30). Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro.

Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching Critical Thinking for Transfer Across Domains: Disposition, Skills, Structure Training, and Metacognitive Monitoring. American Psychologist, 53(4), 449 455.

Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 5th Edition. New York: Psychology Press.

Halpern, D. F., & Sternberg, R. J. (2020). An Introduction to Critical Thinking: Maybe It Will Change Your Life. In R. J. Sternberg, & D. F. Halpern (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Psychology (2e édition, pp. 1 9). Cambridge University Press.

Hamby, B. (2015). Willingness to Inquire: The Cardinal Critical Thinking Virtue. In M. Davies, & R. Barnett (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education (pp. 77-87). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hirose, S. (1992). Critical Thinking in Community College. ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior College Los Angeles CA.

Ku, K. Y. L. (2009). Assessing Students’ Critical Thinking Performance: Urging for Measurements Using Multi-Response Format. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4(1), 70 76.

Lavoie, V. (2011). Déterminants psychosociaux de l’ajustement psychologique chez les militaires souffrant d’un état de stress post-traumatique. Thèse de doctorat. Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Lipman, M. (2006). À l’école de la pensée. Enseigner une pensée holistique (2e éd.) (trad. N. Decostre) Bruxelles : De Boeck Université.

Orlandi, L. R. (1971). Evaluation of Learning in Secondary School Social Studies. In B. S. Bloom, J. T. Hastings, & G. Madaus (Eds.), Handbook of Formative and Summative Evaluation of Student Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill.

McPeck, J. E. (1981). Critical Thinking and Education. New York (NY): St. Martin’s Press.

McPeck, J. E. (1990). Critical Thinking and Subject Specificity: A Replay to Ennis. Educational Researcher, 19(4), 10-12.

Norris, S.P., & Ennis, R. H. (1989). Evaluating Critical Thinking. Pacific Grove (CA): Midwest Publications, Critical Thinking Press.

Paul, R. (2005). The State of Critical Thinking Today. New Directions for Community Colleges, (130), 27-38.

Perkins, D. N., & Ritchhart, R. (2004). When is Good Thinking? In D. Y. Dai, & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Motivation, Emotion, and Cognition: Integrative Perspectives on Intellectual Functioning and Development (pp. 351 384). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Reboul, O. (1984). Le langage de l’éducation: analyse du discours pédagogique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Saiz, C., & Rivas, S. (2017). Desarollo del Pensamiento Crítico. In L. S. Almeida (Org.), Criatividade e Pensamento Crítico: Conceito, Avaliação e Desenvolvimento (pp. 133-179). Braga: Centro de Estudos e Recursos em Psicologia.

Sălăvăstru, D. (2007). Gândirea critică – o abilitate cognitivă de ordin superior. Analele Științifice ale Universității „Al. I. Cuza” din Iași, Psihologie, Tomul XVI, 41-50.

Schendel, R. (2016). Adapting, Not Adopting: Barriers Affecting Teaching for Critical Thinking at Two Rwandan Universities. Comparative Education Review, 60(3), 549-570.

Siebert, H., 2001, Pedagogie constructivista. Bilant asupra dezbaterii constructiviste asupra educatiei, Institutul European, Iasi.

Downloads

Published

2022-06-24

How to Cite

Mihail, R. (2022). The Relevance of Critical Thinking from the Perspective of Professional Training. Postmodern Openings, 13(2), 499-513. https://doi.org/10.18662/po/13.2/468

Issue

Section

Theoretical articles

Publish your work at the Scientific Publishing House LUMEN

It easy with us: publish now your work, novel, research, proceeding at Lumen Scientific Publishing House

Send your manuscript right now