Exploring Higher Secondary EFL Teachers' Perceptions of Critical Thinking and Its Development: A Critical Reflection

Abstract

It is widely recognized that developing critical thinking skills promotes higher levels of language proficiency and academic success. However, teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking have a significant impact on pedagogical practices, students’ learning, and achievement; therefore, a meticulous understanding of teachers’ perceptions is the prerequisite for the enhancement and effective implementation of critical thinking skills. Against this background, this exploratory study uses a constructivist approach to employ semi structured interviews with 12 EFL teachers at the higher secondary level in Bangladesh to address the research gap in understanding EFL teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking and its practice. The findings revealed that teachers’ knowledge of critical thinking is limited and fragmented, and there is a gap between their perception and the generically recognized concept of critical thinking. This suggests that there is a need to develop teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to promote critical thinking skills in EFL classrooms at higher secondary levels.