Children’s critical thinking skills: perceptions of Norwegian early childhood educators

Abstract

The significance of learning to think critically from a young age is well documented. Early childhood educators play an essential role in children’s critical skills development. Therefore, it is crucial to understand their perceptions of this concept. This qualitative study explored Norwegian early childhood educators’ perceptions of critical thinking (CT). Ten educators representing three different kindergartens were interviewed. Thematic analyses revealed that the educators had many different understandings of CT; all agreed on the importance of CT for children’s development and identified their role as essential in supporting and stimulating CT among children. They described CT more in relation to a child’s dispositions and attitudes than cognitive skills and connected it mainly with social and physical aspects. Overall, this study contributes to raising awareness of the importance of supporting educators’ knowledge about the CT concept and pedagogical approaches to enhancing CT in children.