Barriers and solutions to develop critical thinkers: understanding primary school teachers perspective

Jayanthi Subramaniam

QR Code Link :
Type :	thesis
Subject :	LB Theory and practice of education
Main Author :	Jayanthi Subramaniam
Title :	Barriers and solutions to develop critical thinkers: understanding primary school teachers perspective

Place of Production :	Tanjong Malim
Publisher :	Fakulti Pembangunan Manusia
Year of Publication :	2022
Corporate Name :	Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
PDF Guest :	Click to view PDF file
PDF Full Text :	Login required to access this item.

Abstract : Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

This study is aims to explore the barriers and potential solutions from primary school teachers to develop critical thinking among students. Paul and Elder’s Critical Thinking model was adapted, aligned with cognitive learning aspects to develop students thinking skills. Qualitative approaches were used in this study to identify the barriers, potential solutions to overcome the barriers, and the importance of developing primary school critical thinkers. Six primary school teachers teaching in SJKT schools in Sentul District Kuala Lumpur were chosen using the purposive sampling method. Three research instruments were employed, which are interview, questionnaire and focus group discussion. NVivo software were used to analyse the data. The findings of this study underline five themes on the barriers to critical thinking at the primary school level which include, (a) critical thinking in primary school, (b) problem-solving in daily life, (c) primary school teachers teaching methods, (d) barriers to critical thinking, and (e) enhance the knowledge. The result also showed that primary school teachers had different thoughts and feelings about the barriers preventing them from developing critical thinking skills among primary school students. In conclusion, even though there are many obstacles, primary school teachers are continuously motivating themselves by enhancing the knowledge to better their students and have more potential solutions to overcome those barriers These findings have implications for improving the integration’s effectiveness, removing barriers to critical thinking skills, and developing more primary school critical thinkers.

References

Aamirah, A. Z., Lee, Y. D, &Melor, M. Y. (2017). 21 st Century Education in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Malaysia.

Abdul Aziz @Ahmad, A., Ismail, F., Ibrahim, N. M., & Samat, N. A.(2017). Investigating the Implementation of Higher Order Thinking Skills in Malaysian Classrooms: Insights from L2 Teaching Practices. Sains Humanika, 9(4-2).

Abd Halim Abdullah (2019), Siti S.F., Nurafah, S., Abd Rahman, Mohamad Tahir L. & Hamzah M.H., Emerging patterns and problems of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) Mathematical problem-solving in the Form-three as assessment (PT3)

Abd. Rahim Abd. Rashid (1997), Kemahiran Berfikir Merentasi Kurikulum, Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Kuala Lumpur.

Aronowitz, S. (2004). How class works: Power and social movement: Yale UniversityPress.

Ashraf A, Garmabi H, Fayendari MB. Do critical thinking skillslead to seccess in language teaching? A case of Iranian EFL teachers based on their gender and degree of education, Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice, Vol.10, No.20, 17-28, 2017.

As’ari, A.R., Mahmudi, A., & Nuerlaelah, E. (2017). Our Prospective Mathematics Teachers are Not Critical Thinkers Yet. Journal on Mathematics Education, 8(2), 145-156.

Barseghian, T. (2009). Design thinking: Creative ways to solve problems. Retrieved from edutopia. org/design-challenge.

Beyer, B. K. (1984). Improving thinking skills: Defining the problem. The Phi Delta Kappan.

Boaler, J. & Staples, M. (2008). Creating mathematical futures through an equitable Teaching Approach:

Braun, V. & Clark, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research a practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Chen, M. (2010). Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Stephen.

Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Sage publications Thousand Oaks, CA

Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2007). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do: John Wiley & Sons.

Dewey, J. (1938). Education and experience: New York: Macmillan.

Ennis, R.H. 2011. The Nature of Critical Thinking: An Outline of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities. The revised version of a presentation at the Sixth Conference on Thinking at MIT, Cambridge, MA, July 1994.

Facione, P.F. 2011. Ctitical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts. Millbrae, CA: Measured Reasons and The California Academic Press.

Freire, P. (1970). Cultural action for freedom: Harvard educational review.

Friesen, S., Jardine, D., & Gladstone, B. (2010). CHAPTER 10: The First Thunder Clap of Spring. Action in Teacher Education, 32(5-6), 179-199. Fullan, M. (2002). Principals as leaders in a culture of change. Educational leadership, 59(8), 16-21.

Ganapathy, M., Kaur, M., Singh, M., Kaur, S., & Kit, L. W. A. I. (2017). Promoting higher order thinking skills via teaching practices. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 23(1), 75–85.

Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Computers in Entertainment (CIE), 1(1), 20-20.

Gleason, N. W. (2018). Higher education in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (p. 229). Singapore: Springer Nature.

Haji Ahmad, R. (1998). Educational development and reformation in Malaysia: past, present and future. Journal of Educational Administration, 36(5), 462-475.

Hair, J. F. J., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., and Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5 ed.): Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Harun & Shukor, 2019; Karakoc, 2016). Changwong, K., Sukkamart, A., & Sisan, B. (2018). Critical thinking skill development: Analysis of a new learning management model for Thai high schools. Journal International Studies, 11(2), 37-48.

Hashim, R. (2013). Pedagogi hikmah dan pengajaran kemahiran berfikir di sekolah [Wisdom pedagogy and critical thinking in school]. Gombak: Centre for Philosophical Inquiry in Education, International Islamic University Malaysia.

Hassan M.N, Mustapha, Nik Azimah N.Y, Rosnidar M., (2007). Development of Higher order Thinking Skills Module in Science Primary School : Needs Analysis

Heilig, J. V., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Accountability Texas-style: The progress and learning of urban minority students in a high-stakes testing context. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(2), 75-110.

Herman, J. (2004). The effects of testing on instruction. In Fuhrman, S., & Elmore, R. (Eds.), Redesigning accountability systems for education. Amsterdam Avenue, NY: teachers College Press.

H Salikin, SZB Tahir (2017). The social media-based approach in teaching writing at Jember University, Indonesia. International Journal of English Linguistics 7 (3), 46

Ismail.S.N., Muhammad,S., Kanesan, A.G., & Ali, R.M (2019). The Influence of Teachers' Perception and Readiness towards the Implementation of Critical Thinking Skills (TS) Practice in Mathematics. International Journal of Instruction, 12(2).

Jerome, C., Lee, J. A., & Ting, S. (2017). What students really need: Instructional strategies that enhance higher order thinking skills (hots) among UNIMAS undergraduates. International Journal of Business and Society.

Joanna Joseph Jeyaraj. (2019). Possibilities for critical pedagogy engagement in higher education: exploring students' openness and acceptence.

J. Landsman & P. Gorski, "Countering standardization", Educ, Leadership, vol.64, no.8, May 2007

Lidawan, M. W. (2019). Reinforcing collaborative writing by order thinking skills with perceived viability. European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies, 33-69.

Lim. (2017, July 3). What Should You Know about Chinese Schools in Malaysia. Retrieved June 30, 2019, from Malay Mail:

Lipman, M., Sharp, A. M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1980). Philosophy in the classroom (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

M. Forster, Higher Order Thinking Skills. Research Developments.

Mabruroh, F., & Suhandi, A. (2017). Construction of critical thinking skills test instrument related the concept on sound wave. IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series, 812 (012056), 1-7.

Mahmood H.Hussein, Siew Hock Ow, Loh Sau Cheong & Meow-Keong Thong, (2019). A Digital Game-Based Learning Method to improve students' critical thinking skills in elementary science.

Majiet A.K. (2016). Improving the critical thinking skills of learners in a grade six history classroom :An Action Research Approach

Margana, M., & Widyantoro, A. (2017). Developing English textbooks oriented to higher order thinking skills for students of vocational high schools in Yogyakarta. Journal of Language Teaching and Research,

Masrom NW, Hashim M, Hashim N, Behak FP. Bloom's Taxonomy from the Islamic perspectives. Journalof Quran Sunnah Education and Special Needs, Vol.1, 18-26, 2008.

Mohammed Y.M., Mai, Muhammed Yussuf, Maria Saleh, (2019). Content Analysis for Critical Thinking Skills in the lower primary school science textbook in Malaysia, European Journal of Sosial Science Education and Research.

Mohd. Hawari A.D ; Azlin Iryani M.N (2018). Challenges in the teaching of art common practices to enhance students' soft skills via Project-Based Learning

Nachiappan, S., Sinnasamy, B., & Suffian, S. (2017). Masalah dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran pendidikan moral di sekolah menengah dan penyelesaian masalah melalui kaedah hermeneutic [Problems in teaching and learning moral education in high school and problem solving through hermeneutic methods]. Journal of Research, Policy & Practice of Teachers & Teacher Education (JRPPTTE), 7(2), 58-68.

Navarro, P. (2008). The MBA core curricula of top-ranked US business schools: a study in failure? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7(1), 108-123.

N.Bavani, S.Selvaranee & V.Renuka. (2016). When students say "I just couln't think": challenges in Teaching skillful thinking.

Nor’ain, M. T., & Mohan, C. (2017). The Link between Higher Order Thinking Skills, Representation and Concepts in Enhancing TIMSS Tasks. International Journal of Instruction

Othman Ms, Kassim AY. Keberkesanan permulaan pengajaran menerusi amalan kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi (KBAT) di dalam mata pelajaran pendidikan Islam Sekolah rendah Negeri Perak. Online Journal of Islamic Education, Vol 4, No.2, 23-25, 2017.

Prensky, M. R. (2010). Teaching digital natives: Partnering for real learning: Corwin Press.

Razak, M. R. A. (2009). Pembinaan negara bangsa Malaysia: peranan pendidikan sejarah dan dasar pendidikan kebangsaan. Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, 36, 90-106.

Rebecca Rajaendram, Key to higher order thinking skills. Star Online, 2018.

Ruggiero, V.P. 2012. Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

Ryan A.Sprott. 2019. Factors that foster and deter advanced teachers' Professional development.

Sasi A.S. (2018). Enhancing Critical Thinking in Malaysian Primary School Students through PLS Method

Seman, Shamilati., Wan Yusoff., Wan Mazwati., Embong & Rahimah. (2017). Teachers challenges in Teaching and Learning for Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in primary school.

Sheng-Shiang Tseng : Hui-Chin Yeh. 2019. Fostering EFL teachers' CALL Competencies Through Project-based Learning.

Singh, J., & Goyal, B. (2009). Mobile handset buying behavior of different age and gender groups. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(5), P179.

Singh, C. K. S., Gopal, R., Tek, O. E., Masa Singh, T. S., Mostafa, N. A., & Ambar Singh R. K. (2020). ESL teachers’ strategies to foster higher-order thinking skills to teach writing. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction,

Snyder, L.G. & Snyder, M.J. 2008. Teaching Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills. The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Vol. 1 No 2

Yahaya, A. (1999). Keberkesanan Pelaksanaan Program Kemahiran Hidup di Sekolah-Sekolah Menengah di Malaysia Berdasarkan Model Penilaian Konteks, Input, Proses dan Produk. Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Yen, T. S., & Halili, S. H. (2015). Effective teaching of higher order thinking (HOT) in education. The Online Journal of Distance Education and e-Learning.

Zainudin H., Jayalatchmee M., Lokman T., Rohaya T., Sanitah M.Y., & Noor Azean A. (2018) The 21st Century Learning in Malaysian Primary School : Exploring Teachers' Understanding and Implementation of HOTS.

Zhao, Y., & Bryant, F. L. (2006). Can teacher technology integration training alone lead to high levels of technology integration? A qualitative look at teachers’ technology integration after state mandated technology training. Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, 5(1), 53-62.

Bahagian Penyelidikan dan Perancangan Pendidikan. (1994). Education in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Ministry of Education.

Education, M.O (2013), Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 Retrived March 23, 2019, from Ministry of Education, https://www.moe.gov.my/en/dasar/1207-malaysia.education-blueprint-20132025/file.

Ministry of Education, Malaysia, Malaysia Education Blue Print 2013- 2025. (Preschool to Post –Secondary Education). Putrajaya Malaysia, 2013.

This material may be protected under Copyright Act which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials.
You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research.

Back to previous page