Critical thinking skills in early years

Abstract

Learning to think critically set a good foundation for good thinking development in younger children. The preschool years have to be liable to incorporate strategies and develop appropriates practices of critical thinking into the classroom. However, teaching critical thinking has not been a simple task. The purpose of the research study attempts to identify critical and creative thinking among kindergarten children. In the name of this purpose the ideas are taken from the teacher candidates who teach in kindergarten level. In the study four preschool teacher candidates take part in. To get the teachers’ ideas, in the research a form is applied consisting of 19 open-ended questions was directed to the teachers and principal in a kindergarten. The frequencies of the teacher candidates’ opinions are taken by coding with the content analysis. Looking into the results of the research it is stated that teachers declare that insufficient sources of critical thinking develop in students and teachers have shallow understanding of critical thinking skills. This proposed study is expected to benefit to the education society in order to enrich young children’s capacity and skills to think critically and creatively.