The Role of Teachers of the First Three Grades in Developing Critical Thinking Skills among Basic Education Pupils in Bani Walid Schools

Abstract

This study aims to examine the role of teachers of the first three grades in the basic education stage in the city of Bani Walid in developing students’ critical thinking skills. It seeks to identify the instructional strategies they employ, explore the major challenges that limit the integration of critical thinking within classrooms, and determine the most commonly used activities and methods for enhancing these skills. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical approach and included a sample of (50) male and female teachers from public and private schools selected through stratified random sampling. Multiple tools were used to collect data, including a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations, and their validity and reliability were verified using appropriate statistical methods.

The results revealed that teachers’ use of critical thinking strategies ranged from moderate to high, with an overall mean score of (3.84). Interactive strategies, such as open-ended questioning and classroom discussions, achieved higher means of (4.20) and (4.05) respectively, compared to relatively lower implementation of practical strategies such as problem-based learning (3.65) and analytical assessment (3.50). Findings also showed that the main challenges facing teachers were crowded classrooms (4.25) and limited instructional time (4.10), followed by insufficient professional training (3.95), lack of educational resources (3.80), and dominance of traditional teaching methods (3.70), with an overall challenges mean of (3.96).

Regarding activities and instructional methods, the results indicated that classroom discussions (4.20) and real-life examples (4.05) were the most commonly used, while practical activities (3.70) and monitoring student progress (3.55) were moderately implemented, achieving an overall mean of (3.88). Based on these findings, the study concludes that teachers in the first three grades in Bani Walid do play a positive role in developing critical thinking skills; however, this role lacks balance between discussion-based and application-based strategies. This calls for curriculum development, specialized training programs, and the creation of more supportive classroom environments that can foster critical thinking skills in early educational stages.