Enhancing critical thinking in Ugandan secondary school classrooms:
Teacher professional development action research
Abstract
Critical thinking is recognized as key in any society. However, the
Ugandan system of education is not helping students to become critical
thinkers; the education is superficial and uncritically based on rote
learning. The main objective of this study was to investigate and
document how Ugandan secondary school teachers could be supported in
explicitly pursuing the goal of fostering students’ critical thinking.
This professional development action research showed that the
instructional support coaching system contributed to enhancing the
teachers’ professional and pedagogical capacity, led them to transform
their instructional planning process, and shifted their beliefs with
regard to curricula and learning theories.