Critical thinking is an ability that educators strive to promote in their students to help them thrive academically and socially. Yet, fulfilling this aim in the context of Omani higher education (HE) is challenging and existing studies indicate that Omani students need to develop their critical thinking skills further. Particular limitations identified in the literature concern a lack of higher order thinking skills, including analysis, inferencing, synthesis and evaluation. This qualitative study aimed to address the above concerns by exploring the ways in which critical thinking is understood and practiced by teachers and students at a public university in the Omani HE context and thus providing much needed empirical evidence to develop guidance on how critical thinking might be promoted. The study sought to respond to three main questions: first, how critical thinking is understood in the Omani HE context; second, what factors teachers and students consider influence understanding of critical thinking; third, how this understanding is manifested in teachers’ practices. The study employed semi-structured interviews with teachers, focus group discussions with students, online classroom observation and journal writing. The data were analysed thematically. The findings showed ways in which Omani, Arab and Islamic traditions can combine to help students think critically, countering common assumptions about the lack of criticality in non-’Western’ cultures/contexts. This is shown through the various understandings of critical thinking that are influenced, for example, by the social and cultural practices of Al Shura, Ijtihad and Al Qiyas, which draw greatly on dialogic interaction as a means of negotiating meaning in the social context. However, the diverse understandings of critical thinking as a cognitive and attitudinal ability are not evidenced to any great extent in classroom practice. There is therefore a need for policymakers and educational decision makers to develop guidelines and a framework for pedagogy that fosters critical thinking through a dialogic approach, consistent with the culture of discursive practice in Omani society. Hence, a key implication for policy and practice is that Ijtihad, Al Qiyas, Halaqa and Al Shura should be included in Omani university curricula. Further research would be beneficial to corroborate the findings of this study in face-to-face teaching and learning. Moreover, it is recommended that future research investigate the strategies students might employ in and outside the classroom to develop critical thinking in greater depth.
Exploring Critical Thinking in a Social and Cultural Context: The Perspectives of Teachers and Students at a Public University in Oman
Al Saifi, S. E. S. (Author). 10 Dec 2024
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)