Leadership to Support Teacher Beliefs and Practices of Fostering Critical Thinking
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study of an urban school district in southern Alberta was to examine the role of school leaders in supporting the development of teacher beliefs and practices to foster critical thinking by students. In Alberta, this is particularly relevant to school leaders who are required to support teachers to implement the Ministerial Order on Student Learning (Alberta Education, 2013) requirement that students think critically across subject and discipline areas for learning, work, and life. The literature review examined definitions, development, and educational significance of critical thinking by all children. Current research concerning the relationship between teacher beliefs and teacher practices to foster critical thinking was explored. Leadership practices to support teacher change were surveyed, with a focus on setting clear goals and expectations, involvement in instructional programming, and promoting and participating in a positive school learning climate. Qualitative questionnaires, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, and document review methods were used to collect data and examine the phenomenon from multiple perspectives. Findings indicated that while teachers believe fostering critical thinking is an important goal of education, they believe some students are less able to benefit from critical thinking opportunities. Teachers and school leaders identified supportive leadership practices to help develop teacher beliefs and practices to foster critical thinking by students. The twelve findings are synthesized to provide meaningful recommendations for school leaders and for future research.
Description
Keywords
Education--Administration, Education--Curriculum and Instruction, Education--Elementary, Education--Teacher Training
Citation
Tapajna, R. (2017). Leadership to Support Teacher Beliefs and Practices of Fostering Critical Thinking (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26736