Secondary teachers’ beliefs about the relationship between students cultural identity and their ability to think critically

Abstract

Critical thinking (CT) is increasingly included within education curriculum policy development to support students’ intellectual progress. Teachers who embed CT learning and are cognisant of students cultural identity increase their ability and aptitude to think critically. This paper reports results from an anonymous survey administered to 490 teacher participants, designed to investigate teacher beliefs regarding the impact of students cultural identity on their ability to think critically. The results of the study found a diversity of teacher opinion, including negative attitudes (53%) regarding students’ abilities and the requirement for a culturally responsive teaching approach. The study highlights the complexities of implementing CT, and the need for policy makers to consider the impact of teachers’ beliefs about student cultural identity before effective delivery of CT in secondary schools is likely to occur.