CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
6.2 What are the factors related to the teaching of critical thinking skills?
6.2.2 Culture as a factor related to the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners
young learners during the teaching of mathematics. The research study further indicates that learners’ critical thinking skills are affected by their home background which is also embedded in young learners’ culture. In line with the findings of this research study is a critical analysis of Zimbabwean culture by Rutoro (2013) who acknowledges that cultural values are so deeply ingrained such that it is not easy to change the ingrained beliefs in learners. Guo (2013) argues that culture is important because it tells us in different degrees what we are expected to think, say, and behave in typical life situations. The participants in the present research study pointed out several culturally related factors that influence the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners during the teaching of mathematics.
The present research study further reveals that learners’ critical thinking skills may be affected by their home background which may fail to reinforce the young learners’ schoolwork or fail to
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provide adequate stationery. This is consistent with Bronfenbrener’s (1979) ecological systems theory in which a learner grows up in a system of social networks which influence his/her development in one way or another. Along similar lines, Bali (2015) observed that the notion of the individual is different in Islamic cultures and this, given that individual voice and stance is a key component of critical thinking, affects ways in which learners express themselves and their ideas. Similarly, the failure by young learners in the current study to explicitly display critical thinking skills during the teaching of mathematics is attributed to culturally restrictions on speaking and talking imposed on young children. Sohel (2012) acknowledges that social constructivists value both the context in which learning occurs and the social contexts that young learners bring to their environment. Inversely, people in the young learners’ social context are likely to affect how they think and the degree to which they think critically and the improvement in their mathematical literacy.
The preceding data indicates that young learners are greatly influenced by adults such that they are left with no option except to follow the expectations of their elders. The finding of the present research study reveals that young learners have no freedom to decide or give opinions but conform to what adults say which may compromise their development of critical thinking skills. This finding corroborates what Guo (2013) maintains about the Chinese collectivistic culture, that harmony and cooperation among the group tend to be emphasised more than the achievement by individuals. It is therefore likely that the upbringing of a learner, especially where he/she has to conform to what adults expect, may stifle the development of critical thinking skills. This was evident in the schools which were under study as learners were in some instances asked to be silent while in another moment were asked to speak. Compliance with norms may thus inhibit individual beliefs which are needed in critical thinking skills. It can therefore be argued that the influence of culture on critical thinking skills of young learners may negatively affect the teaching of critical thinking skills during mathematics teaching so as to boost their mathematical literacy.
Additionally, the present research study reveals that learners’ thinking is influenced by the community in which they live. The community is part of the young learners’ culture. In the Zimbabwean context, especially among the Shona speaking people in which the present research study was undertaken, the thinking of learners was influenced by what was expected in their community. Learning experiences are derived from community activities since they are based on
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day to day experiences of the learner (mathematical literacy). The finding shows that how learners acted during mathematics lessons was to meet the expectations of their society because some of the behaviours might not be allowed in their culture. The study reveals that cultural traits in the community, such as not talking in the presence of adults, conformity to what adults say and not asking questions, are some of the setbacks to the development of critical thinking skills among young learners. In a research study conducted by Rutoro (2013), it was noted that culture in Zimbabwe is not by biological inheritance but a product of a social group which is passed from one generation to the next by learning and through sharing perceptions and attitudes. Similarly, McKinley (2013) is of the view that young learners who are raised under social practices where group harmony and conformity are stressed, may be perceived to be deficient in critical thinking skills compared to learners from other cultures who work as separate entities. Based on the findings of the current research study, young learners’ cultural context is thus attributed to having a great impact on young learners’ development of critical thinking skills in a variety of ways. This may become a barrier to the teaching of critical thinking skills to enhance learners’ mathematical literacy. In the current research, culture is therefore accredited to negatively affect the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners and, by extension, leading to failure to apply mathematics to day to day living (mathematical literacy).
A Canadian research study conducted by Grusec and Danyliuk (2014) revealed that one determinant of learners’ behaviour lies in their general attitudes as well as specific beliefs that are activated during parenting. In the current study, it was observed that young learners were socialised not to speak in the presence of adults or many people resulting in reluctance to speak even when asked to or whispering during the teaching of mathematics. This is likely to stifle the critical thinking skills of learners. As the present research study reveals, young learners were rarely given the opportunity to exercise their thinking during the teaching of mathematics. Similarly, Guo (2013) believes that the degree to which a culture is individualistic or collectivistic has an important impact on learners’ thinking processes.
In line with the finding of the present research study, Gorman (2017) found out that in California young learners who reason with adults are strong willed and are more willing to do what is right rather than what their friends are doing. The aforementioned Californian study also noted that learners who are not always influenced by those around them express what they think and usually
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win over those in the negotiation. The finding of the present research study indicates that some expectations of the community may stifle young learners’ critical thinking skills. Young learners who were observed during the teaching of mathematics were not asking the teachers questions right across all the age level under study. This likened to their culture which expects young learners to religiously following what adults say since they are not expected to question what the community expects of them. Health (2012) admits that people from different cultures might find clues they could use in their own processes of critical thinking. The present study concludes the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners may be heavily influenced by the contexts in which they are raised and how they were socialised resulting in failing to make sense of the acquired mathematical knowledge (mathematical literacy).The next section focuses on learners’
backgrounds and their influence on the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners.
6.2.3 Background as a factor that has an influence when teaching young learners critical