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Howe, Edward Ronald
Secondary School Teachers' Conceptions of Critical Thinking
in British Columbia and Japan: A Comparative Study.
2000-10-00
123p.; M.A. Thesis, University of British Columbia.
Masters Theses (042)
Dissertations/Theses
MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.
Comparative Analysis; Comparative Education; *Critical
Thinking; Factor Analysis; Foreign Countries;
Questionnaires; Secondary Education; *Secondary School
Teachers; *Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Surveys; *Thinking
Skills
*British Columbia; *Japan; Teacher Knowledge; Thinking
Across the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Critical thinking has received much attention among
educators yet remains largely undeveloped in traditional teacher-centered
classrooms. A study was conducted to: (1) obtain a sense of what secondary
school teachers believe critical thinking entails; (2) compare and contrast
British Columbia (BC), Canada, and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions
of critical thinking; (3) investigate the nature of BC and Japanese secondary
teachers' conceptions of critical thinking with respect to gender, age,
teaching experience, and subject taught; and (4) determine whether critical
thinking is a significant part of BC and Japanese teaching and the curriculum
at the secondary level. Over 150 teachers from BC and Japan were asked to:
(1) sort through 50 potential definers denoting possible attributes of
critical thinking; (2) rank the 10 most significant; and (3) answer a
questionnaire about the nature of critical thinking. Quantitative data,
reduced through factor analysis, yielded a 5-factor solution: Scientific
Reasoning, Cognitive Strategizing, Conscientious Judgments, Relevance, and
Intellectual Engagement. From a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative
data from teachers surveyed as well as expert opinion, critical thinking was
found to be a process in which an individual is actively engaged in
analyzing, reasoning, questioning, and searching for alternatives to solve a
problem or to make a decision or judgment. While over half the teachers
indicated critical thinking was part of their curriculum and teaching, many
were unable to articulate how to teach it effectively, and there were
significant differences in their conceptions of critical thinking. (Contains
7 figures, 11 tables, and 83 references. Teacher questionnaires in English
and Japanese, critical thinking definers spreadsheet, and related component
matrix of 50 definers are appended.) (Author/BT)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.

SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' CONCEPTIONS OF
CRITICAL THINKING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND JAPAN:

A Comparative Study
by

EDWARD RONALD HOWE

B.Sc., University of British Columbia, 1988
B.Ed., University of British Columbia, 1992
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS

in
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(Department of Educational Studies)

We accept this thesis as conforming
to the required standard
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
BEEN GRANTED BY

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
originating it.
Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
1

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
October, 2000

© Edward Ronald Howe, 2000

2
BEST COPY AVAILABLE

ABSTRACT
Critical thinking has received much attention among educators, yet
remains largely undeveloped in traditional teacher-centred classrooms. Critical
thinking is used in at least three major contexts: (1) the media and general public,
(2) teacher pedagogy, and (3) academic discourse. Critical thinking must be better

understood by individuals within all three levels. The purposes of this study
were (1) to obtain an overall sense of what secondary school teachers believed
critical thinking to entail; (2) to compare and contrast B.C. and Japanese

secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking; (3) to investigate the nature
of B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking with
respect to gender, age, teaching experience and subject taught; and (4) to

determine whether critical thinking is a significant part of B.C. and Japanese

teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level.
Over 150 secondary teachers from B.C. and Japan were asked to (1) sort

through 50 potential definers denoting possible attributes of critical thinking; (2)

rank the 10 most significant to critical thinking; and (3) answer a questionnaire

about the nature of critical thinking.
The quantitative data, effectively reduced through factor analysis, yielded a
five factor solution: Scientific Reasoning, Cognitive Strategizing, Conscientious
Judgements, Relevance, and Intellectual Engagement. B.C. teachers

conceptualized critical thinking through Cognitive Strategizing and Relevance,
while Japanese teachers favoured Conscientious Judgements and Intellectual

Engagement. From a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative data from teachers
surveyed as well as expert opinion, critical thinking was found to be a process in

which an individual is actively engaged in analyzing, reasoning, questioning,
and creatively searching for alternatives in an effort to solve a problem or to
ii

3

make a decision or judgement. Teachers indicated that critical thinking was not

rote memorization, demonstrating factual knowledge, comprehension or
application. It was more than following a given algorithm or set of procedures.

While over half the teachers surveyed indicated critical thinking was part of the

curriculum and their teaching, many were unable to articulate how to teach it
effectively. There were significant differences in teachers' conceptions of critical

thinking. Culture accounted for more differences than gender, age, teaching
experience, subject area, or the teaching of critical thinking. Using discriminant
analysis, 27 definers distinguished between B.C. and Japanese teachers. While
B.C. teachers tended to choose "Decision making," "Problem solving,"

"Divergent thinking," "Metacognitive skills," "Higher order thinking,"
"Deductive reasoning," and "Identifying/removing bias," Japanese teachers
tended to chose "Fairness," "Adequacy," "Objective," "Consistency,"
"Completeness," Precision," and "Specificity." Over 96 percent of the teachers
were correctly classified by culture.

Further research is necessary on how to teach critical thinking across the
curriculum and successfully integrate it with B.C. and Japanese educational

reforms in areas such as curriculum development and teacher training. Critical
thinking is a Western expression, yet the concept is not confined to the West.

The author proposes the use of a new term for critical thinking with less

emphasis on "critical" and more emphasis on "thinking"kangaeru chikara or
"powerful thinking" better encompasses the nature of critical thinking as it is
conceived by B.C. and Japan's teachers. Teacher training must incorporate

powerful thinking and teachers must model critical thinking, for any effort to

reform the structure or organization of education ultimately depends on the
effectiveness of the teacher.
111

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

LIST OF TABLES

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

1

The Problem: Critical Thinking Misconceptions
Background to the Study
Rationale and Conceptual Framework
Research Methodology and Data Analysis
Purposes
Organization of the Chapters
CHAPTER 2 EDUCATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND JAPAN

Education in British Columbia
Historical Perspective
Higher Education
Teacher Education
Education in Japan
Historical Perspective
Comparative Perspective
Higher Education
Teacher Education
Comparisons Between B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Educational Reforms in B.C. and Japan
Teacher Education Reforms in B.C. and Japan
Summary
CHAPTER 3 CRITICAL THINKING

The Components of Critical Thinking
Learning Critical Thinking
Distortions of Critical Thinking in the Media
Critical Thinking Research

iv

5

2
3
4
7
8

9
10
10
10
11

12
14
15
16
18
22
25
28
30
30

32
32
34
36
38

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample
Schools
Teachers

Instrument Development
Critical Thinking Cards
Translation of Critical Thinking Definers
Procedures

Phase 1Pilot Study
Phase 2Instrument Design
Phase 3Survey of B.C. Teachers
Phase 4Survey of Japanese Teachers
Data Preparation and Analysis
Summary
CHAPTER 5 RESULTSCHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS

Gender
Age

Teaching Experience
Subject Areas

Summary
CHAPTER 6 RESULTSCRITICAL THINKING
Definers of Critical Thinking
Differences Between B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Differences Based on the Total Number of Definers Chosen
Differences Based on Gender
Differences Based on Age
Differences Based on Career Experience

Relationships Based on Critical Thinking in the Curriculum
Relationships Based on Critical Thinking in Teaching
Distinguishing B.C. from Japanese Teachers
Ranking Selected Definers of Critical Thinking
The Structure of Critical Thinking
Elements of Critical Thinking and the Factoring Procedure
Factors of Critical Thinking
Factor 1: Scientific Reasoning
Factor 2: Cognitive Strategizing
Factor 3: Conscientious Judgements
Factor 4: Relevance
Factor 5: Intellectual Engagement
Scale Scoring

V

6

39
39
40
45
46
46
46
47
47
48
48
49
49
50
52
52
54
54
55
56

57
57
61

63
64
64
64
65
65
66
68
70
71
71
71
73
73
73

74
74

Relationships Between Critical Thinking Scale Scores and
Socio-demographic Characteristics of B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Culture
Gender/Age/Teaching Experience
Critical Thinking in the Curriculum and the
Teaching of Critical Thinking
Total Number of Critical Thinking Definers Chosen
Subject Areas
Summary
CHAPTER 7 DISCUSSION

Teachers' Conceptions of Critical Thinking
How Critical Thinking is Taught
Comparative Perspective
Implications of the Study
CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Critical Analysis of the Methodology
Critical Analysis of the Results
Levels of Critical Thinking

Comparative Education Perspective
Recommendations and Implications for Future Studies

75
76

77
77
79
79
79
81
81
83

84
89
91
91
94
94
95
97

REFERENCES

101

APPENDIX A: Teacher Questionnaire (English Version)

108

APPENDIX B: Teacher Questionnaire (Japanese Version)

110

APPENDIX C: Critical Thinking Definers Spreadsheet

112

APPENDIX D: Rotated Component Matrix of 50 Critical Thinking
Definers

113

vi

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Descriptions of B.C. and Japanese Schools Selected

39

Table 2. Coding of Critical Thinking Card Sort

49

Table 3. Characteristics of Selected Teachers in B.C.
and Japanese High Schools

53

Table 4. Differences in Fifty Definers of Critical Thinking between
Teachers in B.C. and Japanese High Schools

58

Table 5. Correlations Between Fifty Definers of Critical Thinking
and Seven Characteristics of Teacher Demographics

62

Table 6. Critical Thinking Definers that Significantly
Distinguished Between B.C. and Japanese Teachers

66

Table 7. Accuracy of Discriminant Function Distinguishing
B.C. and Japanese Teachers

67

Table 8. Critical Thinking Factor Loadings

72

Table 9. Relationships Between Critical Thinking Scale Scores
and Socio-demographic Characteristics of B.C. and Japanese Teachers

75

Table 10. Critical Thinking as Part of the Prescribed Curriculum

78

Table 11. Critical Thinking Taught in the Classroom

78

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Map of Japan

41

Figure 2. Map of British Columbia

41

Figure 3. Map of The Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver)

42

Figure 4. Map of Kanto Region (Greater Tokyo)

42

Figure 5. Example of a Critical Thinking Card

46

Figure 6. Distribution of Respondents on the Single Canonical
Discriminant Function of Significant Critical Thinking Definers

68

Figure 7. Percentage of Critical Thinking Definers Endorsed,
then Subsequently Ranked in the Top Ten

69

viii

9

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the many people who have helped to make this
thesis possible. My research supervisor, Roger Boshier as well as my other

committee members: John Collins, Ishu Ishiyama, and Hans Schuetze helped
guide me through the process of designing appropriate research tools and in the
analysis of data. A special thank you to my wife, Emmy who helped immensely

with translation and who showed a great deal of patience throughout my
graduate work. Also, my Japanese liaison, Touji Tanaka from Tsukuba

University was very kind and helpful. He enabled me to determine how suitable
my research question was from a Japanese educator's perspective. In addition, Dr.

Tanaka took time from his own research to contact each Principal from the
Japanese high schools and to arrange for my subsequent visits to each high
school. On my initial visit to Tsukuba, Dr. Tanaka's graduate student, Tomomi

Netsu was generous with his time and he was instrumental in the process of the
translations of the critical thinking definers. Reiko Louie, a Japanese teacher here

in B.C. was also a great help in the double-translationa process that can be very
time-consuming. On my visit to Tsukuba's technical high school, another one of
Dr. Tanaka's graduate students, Yoshihei Okabe must be thanked for spending an

entire afternoon as chauffeur and guide to Tsukuba. Thank you to my father-inlaw, Fumikazu Ohki for obtaining numerous Japanese books and Monbusho
documents as well as serving as an educational consultant and contact to various

Japanese individuals and institutions. Thank you to Susan Carpenter and Maria
Trache and especially to John Collins in helping me with the data analysis.

Finally, thank you to all my colleagues (both university graduate students and

teachers) who have given their time to provide insight into the meaning of
critical thinking.
ix

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
Like many other regions in the world, British Columbia is undergoing

major changes in education. Educational reforms reflect international trends in
education, advancements in communication technology and globalization of the
economy. It is important, however, not to lose sight of the ultimate goal of these

reformsto improve student learning. In particular, educators are interested in
teaching strategies that will improve student learning within the context of an
ever-shrinking world. It was with this in mind that the Critical Thinking
Cooperative was formed in 1994 as a project involving school districts, the

Ministry of Education, and other educators across the province. Its purpose was

to support learning and assessment resources and long-term, field-based

professional development in the area of critical thinking. Similarly, in the UK,
the Oxford Centre for Comparative Studies was formed in 1990. Its mandate was

to make contributions to two important questions in the study of comparative
education: (1) What lessons can be learnt from cross-national studies of issues in

education? and (2) What problems of comparative methods do such studies have
to address? Its first published paper raised the question... "what are the specific

lessons that the British could learn from the Japanese education system..."
(Phillips, 1990, p. 159). Much literature in this field has drastically oversimplified

the Japanese educational system. It is the opinion of many researchers in

comparative education that there is much work to be done in this field.
In 1990, the Alberta Department of Education set up a committee to

investigate the curriculum, values and lessons from other countries, principally
Japan and Germany. Their report, International Comparisons in Education,
stated that there are no definitive measures that compare Alberta directly with

2

international systems. Canadian comparisons are flawed due to a lack of

empirical research and therefore open to controversy. The report recommended
several education practices from the comparison countries, transferable to
Alberta, regardless of societal differences. These practices included teacher

training and school administration (Alberta Dept. of Education, 1992, pp. 1-3).
In Tokyo, Japan, the National Institute for Educational Research (NIER)

made similar recommendations including nationwide and international
comparative studies on achievement with a focus on learning motives, attitudes
and thought processes of individuals. The NIER made several recommendations

to the Japanese government including: an emphasis on individuality,
cultivation of creativity, thinking ability and power of expression, humanization

of the educational environment and coping with internationalization (NIER,
1986a, 1986b). Similarly, in British Columbia, the Ministry of Education has

mandated that by the year 2000, all curricula would emphasize problem-solving

and critical thinking, literacy and communication, team work and information
technology (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 1993).

The Problem: Critical Thinking Misconceptions

It would appear that "critical thinking" is an integral part of educational
reforms in Japan and North America (Monbusho, 1992, 1995; Norris, 1988;

Schlechty, 1997). In British Columbia and elsewhere, there is much talk among

educators, politicians and the media. However, much is idle rhetoric, as "critical

thinking" has become the latest "buzzword" in education. Everyone seems to
agree on its importance, yet few articulate exactly what they mean by "critical

thinking." Here are examples from recent newspapers:

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3

You need to be able to think very critically and be highly literate to
use the Internet effectively, says Terry Clark, the head of Vancouver
Public Library's children's division (Vancouver Sun, October 20,
1998, p. Al).

Kit Krieger, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, suggests that
instead of asking "what did you do in school today," ask your child
what questions were raised in his or her mind today. That was the
question asked by the parents of Nobel physicist Hans Bette when he
was a student. It developed critical thinking rather than absorptive
learning (Vancouver Sun, January 15, 1999, p. B7).

Ted McCain and Bill Henderson, two innovative B.C. teachers awarded the

Prime Minister's Award for Teaching excellence espouse their views on the
importance of teaching "critical thinking":

McCain and Henderson say although their students leave high
school with highly marketable, cutting-edge skills, the technical
lessons are the least important thing they take from the classroom.
The focus of their teaching is problem-solving, thinking critically
and working as a team (Vancouver Sun, June 23, 1998, p. B4).
"Critical thinking" is no longer relegated to the pages of scholarly journals nor is

it merely the hot topic of educational philosophers. Rather "critical thinking" is

now in the public's vocabulary, however its meaning remains vague and

convoluted.
Background to the Study

Critical thinking has received much attention among educators, yet
remains largely undeveloped in traditional teacher-centred secondary school
classrooms. At present, there is much research in progress on the meaning,
transferability, and methods of teaching critical thinking. However, there is still
debate about what is meant by "critical thinking." While espoused by educators

and employers both in B.C. and Japan, there has been little examination of the

13

4

way critical thinking is understood within these two education systems. Prior to
this study, based on searches of educational databases including ERIC and the

world wide web, there was no data which compared critical thinking in B.C. and
Japan. In order to foster critical thinking by students, teachers must first critique

present educational practices and the beliefs underlying them. To understand the
nature of critical thinking, educators must be asked questions about the nature of
knowledge, learning and the process of thinking.

Rationale and Conceptual Framework
Comparative Education is not yet a cohesive discipline but is rather an
eclectic mix of approaches within a broader field. The spectrum of approaches

range from cultural relativism to positivism. Many comparative education
researchers' conceptual frameworks lie somewhere within these boundaries, for
they are not necessarily mutually exclusive concepts. However, attempts to

formulate methods that draw on both ends of the spectrum have largely not
been successful. Noteworthy exceptions may include the case study,

morphogenetic approach and Holmes' problem solving approach (Epstein, 1988).

While this study is decidedly positivist in nature, the author recognizes the
importance of cultural relativism and positivism to comparative education, as
'comparison' has different meanings for positivists and relativists.
Cultural relativism uses comparison to gain a mutual respect for
differences while guarding against ethnocentrism. For the relativist 'comparison'
is not a generalizing process but is instead a method to discover cultural
absolutes. Herskovits, Boas, and Benedict were among the first researchers to use

cultural relativism, believing all assessments were made relative to standards
derived from culture (Epstein, 1988). Cultural relativism denies that meaningful

5

cross-cultural comparisons are possible as all educational phenomena are

embedded in cultures that are unique. Thus, cultural relativists would seem at
odds with those who embrace the roots of comparative education and who are
largely positivists.

Positivism has been comparative education's mainstream tradition since
Marc-Antione Ju llien set the stage in the early 19th century. Sir Michael Sadler,

also saw the practical value of studying foreign education systems in order to

make improvements at home. For over one hundred and eighty years, positivist
scholars have examined invariant relationships transcending the boundaries of
particular societies. From comparative education's 'founding fathers' Jul lien and

Sadler, to their modern contemporaries Noah and Eckstein, positivism has
prevailed.

Although there are grave problems inherent in every effort to
study education and society comparatively, and severe
additional problems raised by attempts to apply social science
techniques to comparative work, the promise both of the general
field of comparative education and the specific methods
advocated here remains great. The potential of the field, as we
have argued, lies first in the promise of extending the generality
of propositions beyond the confines of a single society; second, in
the provision of an arena where propositions, testable only in a
cross-national context, can be investigated; third as a field for
interdisciplinary work; and finally, as an instrument for
planners and policy makers (Noah & Eckstein, 1998, pp. 28-29).
From a positivist perspective, cross-national data can be used to test and

verify propositions about relationships between teaching practices and learning
outcomes. Thus, in comparing B.C. and Japanese teachers' conceptions of critical

thinking, a 'positivist approach was used in order to seek meaning that
transcended the two cultures.
The rationale for doing a study of this nature is perhaps not immediately
obvious. Some educators initially may feel the two educational systems (and

5

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cultures for that matter) are so dissimilar that little can be gained from one

studying the other in any detail. However, much can be learned from crosscultural comparisons (Cummings & Altbach, 1997; Ellington, 1992; Epstein, 1988;
Harada, 1993; Howarth, 1991; Kobayashi, 1990; New York State Education Dept.,
1992; Rohlen & LeTendre, 1996; Shimahara & Sakai, 1995; Schriewer, 1988;

Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). However, comparisons have led to an international

economic competitive agenda, and what Thomas Rohlen, author of the wellknown study: Japan's High Schools, calls "the rising tide of naive enthusiasm for
education's benefits among economists, scientists, business people, (and) elected
officials" (Rohlen, 1995, p. 104). Rohlen reflects further on the Western

perceptions of Japanese education and international competition by stating:

Our defensiveness, for whatever reason, has led to distortions in the
public image of education in East Asia. Portraits emphasizing "exam
hells," authoritarian teachers, student malaise, lack of creativity, and
excessive conformity are common. These portraits raise doubts that
there is anything to be learned from school systems with such a
seemingly alien character. Success at such a price, we say to ourselves,
is actually no success at all. I cannot agree. I think I speak for most of
my colleagues who study Asian education in asserting that there is
much to learn. We find many faults with Asian systems of education
and do not always agree on what is most important to their success.
However, these differences make for lively debate, not dismissal of
the topic. We seek to understand first and only then to draw practical
lessons (1995, p. 104).

On a personal note, as a secondary school teacher with experience

teaching in both B.C. and Japan, I have a great interest in comparative

education. After spending two years teaching at several junior high
schools in Tokyo, I was impressed by the organization, teacher

acculturation and ethos of Japanese schools. At the same time, I also noted
deficiencies in teaching strategies and initial teacher training. It occurred to

me that much could be gained from comparing different education

7

systems and borrowing ideas from abroad. You could say that I was

enlightened from my experience overseas and reborn as a comparative
educator!

Increasingly, Japanese educators are coming to Canada and the U.S. to

learn about Western educational systems. Over 3000 teachers are sent abroad
every year (Kobayashi, 1993, p. 11). Since 1993, over 600 Canadians per year have

taken part in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program (Monbusho, 1996,

p. 51). They are doing so because of the internationalization of education,

globalization of the economy, and increased trade and tourism. And by their
presence, great forward strides have been made in international education and
the exchange of ideas.

Both B.C. and Japan stand to benefit from this comparative study. In

particular, this thesis should be of interest to comparative education researchers,
education policy makers, teacher educators, and secondary school teachers.

Researchers, educators and classroom teachers can gain insights into the nature
of critical thinking. The cross-cultural lessons learned can be used to improve

teacher education programs and subsequently curriculum and classroom

teaching should change in order to enhance student learning.

Research Methodology and Data Analysis
The task of this thesis was to compare and contrast B.C. and Japanese high

school teachers' conceptions of critical thinking across the dimensions of culture,
subject taught, experience, age and gender. In order to facilitate this comparison,

a two part survey instrument was designed (see Appendix A for the English
version and Appendix B for the Japanese version). After a pilot study and
double-translation, definers or descriptions of critical thinking (words and

4 ,.

1.1

8

phrases denoting critical thinking) were printed on 50 index cards (in English on
one side and Japanese on the other). Teachers (n=159) from four Japanese and six
B.C. public high schools were asked to sort the critical thinking cards, choosing

only relevant ones. From these, they were required to rank the ten most
significant. The results of this card-sort procedure were recorded in a spreadsheet
(see Appendix C). Thus, quantitative data was collected from the card sort

procedure and questionnaire in addition to qualitative data from open-ended
questions.

Critical thinking, while valued by most teachers, remains a concept that is
not well understood. In particular, teachers have difficulty expressing how
critical thinking can be taught. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the

field of comparative education and knowledge of critical thinkinga topic of
great interest to educators in B.C. and Japan.

Purposes

The purposes of this study were:
(1) To obtain an overall sense of what secondary school teachers believed critical

thinking to entail.
(2) To compare and contrast B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of

critical thinking.
(3) To investigate the nature of B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions
of critical thinking with respect to gender, age, teaching experience and subject

taught.
(4) To determine whether critical thinking is a significant part of B.C. and

Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level.

9

Organization of the Chapters

In the following chapters, the nature of critical thinking in B.C.'s and
Japan's secondary schools is analyzed and compared. Chapter 2 provides an
overview of education in B.C. and Japan. Chapter 3 deals with the concept of
critical thinking. Chapter 4 details the research methodology, while Chapters 5
and 6 report the results of the study. Chapter 7 discusses teachers' conceptions of

critical thinking and offers a comparative perspective. Finally, Chapter 8 serves

as a conclusion and summary of the research findings.

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CHAPTER 2

EDUCATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND JAPAN
Throughout time, civilizations have asked questions and sought answers
in a search for knowledge. Education has always been an essential part of any
society. To better understand critical thinking in B.C. and Japan, first it is

necessary to understand the broader context of education within the two regions.

Education in British Columbia
B.C. continues to be a pioneer in progressive reforms to education. At the
dawn of the information age, B.C. is poised to become a world leader in the role

of teachers and the effective use of information technology, however further
improvements in education are necessary for B.C. to prepare students for the
challenges facing them. In particular, teacher education must change in order to
reflect the changing needs of society.

Historical Perspective

Education in British Columbia has evolved from the one-roomed rural
schools of the late 1800s to the present complex system. During the 1990s, nearly

half the 75 school districts were in the process of amalgamation and
centralization. Due to a huge increase in population, B.C.'s schools were
overcrowded and under-funded (BCTF, 1998). There was an explosion of E.S.L.

students, especially in the Lower Mainland. These factors have combined to

produce a difficult and changing environment for education in B.C.. In addition,
there have been sweeping changes to the curriculum in order to reflect the need
for critical thinking. In 1988, the Eighth B.C. Royal Commission on Education

reported on the state of education in B.C.. As a result, many reforms took place

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including criterion referenced assessment, peer evaluation and a focus on

student-centred approaches to learning. Currently, the curriculum is divided
into three programs: primary (K-3), intermediate (4-7), and secondary (8-12).
Curricular decisions are made by the B.C. Ministry of Education while the
responsibility for teacher training and certification is left to the B.C. College of
Teachers (BCCT). The BCCT is comprised of fifteen teachers, two cabinet

appointees, two Minister of Education appointees and one representative from
the Deans of the Faculties of Education. Prior to 1988, there was little
accountability and few standards for teachers. Since the BCCT was established

however, teacher qualifications and teacher education programs have improved.
Until the mid-1960s, higher education in British Columbia was provided
almost exclusively by its universities. During the 1960s, however, as the demand

for greater variety in post secondary education rose sharply and enrollment
expanded, systems of publicly operated post-secondary non-university

institutions began to develop. Enrollment steadily increased during the 1950s
and 1960s with the expansion of the economy. More and more people were
obtaining high school diplomas. In the late 1960s and the 1970s many more were

going on to college and university. "Human capital" was considered of primary
importance to the growth of the economy. However, during the early 1980s, the

economy slowed down and unemployment rose. In the 1990s, the government
recommended a closer fit between the educational system and the labour market,

yet unemployment and underemployment remained (Livingstone, 1996).

Higher Education

Virtually all Canadian post secondary institutions, including the
universities, offer both full and part-time adult education. Over the past 20 years,

4.

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with the emphasis on lifelong learning, there has been a marked increase in the

number of students from outside the usual 18to-24year-old age group; in 1990,
24 percent of university students were over the age of 24 compared with almost
18 percent in 1970-71 (Statistics Canada, 1996). Currently, more than 55 percent of

all university students are women, and more women receive university
qualifications than men. Similarly, over 53 percent of full-time college students,
and nearly 63 percent of part-time college students are women. Adult education
is a fast-growing sector. In 1990, for example, 3.4 million adults or approximately

20 percent of Canadians were taking part-time courses (Statistics Canada, 1996).

Canadian post-secondary institutions have developed comprehensive,
diversified systems of education, designed to be universally accessible,

responding to the diverse needs of its residents.

Teacher Education

Teacher education in B.C. has progressed substantially since the Normal
schools of the early part of this century. Even as recently as the 1960s it was

possible to teach in B.C.'s public schools with little or no formal teacher training.
This has changed a great deal in the last decade. Teaching has gradually been

gaining status as a legitimate profession like medicine or law. Since 1988, teacher
education and certification in B.C. has been regulated by the British Columbia
College of Teachers. All teachers since 1988 must have obtained the equivalent of

at least five years of university training in an approved post-secondary program
leading to a Bachelor of Education degree. Upon completion of either the

elementary or secondary program, graduates must then apply to the Teachers'
Qualification Service and the BCCT in order to have their academic credentials
assessed. The B.C. Professional Teaching Certificate issued is valid indefinitely

22

13

for as long as the individual continues to remain a member of the College in
good standing.

The Two Year Elementary Teacher Education Program at the University of

British Columbia (U.B.C.) is open to applicants who have completed a minimum
of 90 credits in Arts, Science or Human Kinetics, including relevant pre-

admission studies. The Twelve-Month Elementary Teacher Program, the Pilot
Middle School Teacher Education Program, and the Secondary Teacher

Education Program are open to applicants who have completed a four year

Bachelor's degree which includes relevant pre-admission studies. Admission to
teacher education is limited by the available spaces in each program and

employment prospects. Because of the competition for admission, students are
often required to have a grade point average well above the 65 percent

minimum. Initially, candidates develop a foundation of teaching through
courses designed to provide a balance of general and specialized knowledge about

curriculum and instruction, including pedagogical knowledge, educational
psychology and special education. In addition, students have a two week

practicum for observations and orientation to the school in which they will be
doing the extended practicum. After the first semester of study, students enter a
13 week extended practicum consisting of a 20-30 percent teaching assignment,
which is gradually increased to 80 percent for the final 4 weeks. By the time they

successfully complete the extended practicum, students should have

demonstrated that they can plan, implement and evaluate instruction at a
standard expected of a beginning teacher. After the practicum, students return to
campus for one semester to engage in studies designed to put their teaching
experiences in a broader context.

Simon Fraser Universtiy (S.F.U.), The University of Victoria, Trinity

14

Western University as well as other B.C. University-Colleges all offer programs

for teacher preparation. However, teacher education at B.C.'s other institutions
varies somewhat from U.B.C.'s model. S.F.U. has students take two practica. One

is a four-week practicum, done at the beginning of the program, before any

significant course work has been completed. The other is a ten week intensive

practicum that demands that the student must teach a full course load over at
least a six week period. S.F.U.'s program attempts to place more emphasis on a
variety of practicum experiences and on the beginning teacher as a reflective
practitioner. There is decidedly less emphasis on pedagogical theory and teacher
education courses.
Based on this writer's personal experience in U.B.C.'s program (1989) and
role as a sponsor teacher (school associate) in S.F.U.'s program (1996, 1998),

U.B.C.'s program offers a good balance of pedagogical and practical training.

Having the extended practicum in the same school as the initial two week
practicum after the course work offers greater continuity. Also, by gradually

increasing the teaching load, the student teacher can concentrate on daily lesson

planning and the longer outlook of unit planning. In this writer's experience, the
S.F.U. program does not prepare students for the rigorous teaching load of the
ten week practicum. Also, by having two practica in different schools with
different school associates, the practica are a discontinuous and stressful

experience as a result. Neither program is ideal, in comparison to Japan's teacher
education.
Education in Japan
In the 1980s and 1990s Japanese institutions of education underwent

significant changes. Japan's revised model of education has much to offer. In

n 4-

15

particular, the enculturation of beginning teachers shows great promise.
However, many reforms were not sufficient to address the major problems
facing Japan's students. Recent calls for educational reform, driven by slow

economic growth and structural changes to industry, further illustrate the need
for comprehensive changes to Japan's rigid authoritarian education system.

Historical Perspective

Japanese culture and tradition have played an important role in shaping
the education system. Since the Meiji restoration in 1868, Japan has increasingly

looked beyond her shores for ideas and more efficient ways of accomplishing
things. The Japanese are remarkable in the way they have been able to take good

ideas from abroad, perfecting and adapting them for their own purposes, while

maintaining their culture and traditions. Education is a prime example of this.
By learning Western methods of production and adapting the Western model of
capitalism to suit their culture, Japan evolved from a feudal state to a modern

industrial nation in a short period of time. Emperor Meiji understood that in
order for Japan to be competitive in the post-industrial world, the country would
have to learn to be "modern." He sent scholars to Europe, North America and
Asia to study the education systems of other countries. Japan opened its doors to

the rest of the world for the first time in the history of the nation. This proved to
be the single most important factor influencing Japanese education.
After World War II, during the occupation, Japanese education was
modeled on the American 6-3-3-4 system. In 1947, the Fundamental Law of
Education and the School Education Law were enacted. Under these laws a

formal educational system was established on the principle of equal educational
opportunity. In 1948, a new system of upper secondary schools was established.

16

Universities started under the new system in 1949, and junior colleges in the
following year. However, curriculum and instruction in Japanese public schools,
underwent little change as a result (Beauchamp & Vardman, 1994; Okano &
Tsuchiya, 1999; Rohlen, 1983; Shields, 1993; Takakura & Murata, 1998). Japanese

secondary school education is still characterized by a didactic teaching, rote

memory style of learning very similar to the American and British public

schools of the late 1800'sthe very system it was modeled after (Rohlen &
LeTendre, 1996, p. 317). This situation is about to change however, as Japanese

education is poised to undergo a major paradigm shift from rote learning to
critical thinking (Takakura & Murata, 1998). Recently, the Japanese Ministry of

Science and Education (in Japanese- Monbusho) initiated significant and far

reaching reforms to ensure their students have the necessary thinking skills to be
successful in the global economy of the 21st century.

Comparative Perspective

North American education is often compared with that of European
countries, but Japan is a better comparison. First, both Japan and Canada have

reached the "universal" stage of secondary education and the "mass" stage of

higher education. In 1995, the total enrollment rate in senior high school was
estimated to be 85.2 percent in Canada and 95.8 percent in Japan, while the total

enrollment rate in higher education was estimated at 68 percent in Canada and
45.2 percent in Japan (Statistics Canada, 1996; Monbusho, 1996, p. 18). In contrast,

many European countries still have lower enrollment rates in secondary and
post secondary education. Second, both Japan and Canada have comprehensive
public elementary and junior high schools offering a broad-based liberal

education, in contrast with Europe's selective system. Despite these similarities,

17

Japan's institutional national system is a striking contrast to the pluralistic
Canadian provincial system. Japan offers a clear example of institutional
linkages between schools and workplaces. Japanese school-work linkages are

regulated by the Public Employment Security Office (a national employment
agency) and are based on long-term "semiformal contacts" between schools and
employing firms (Okano, 1993; Rosenbaum & Kariya, 1989).

In Japan, the responsibility for engendering the healthy development of
young people is shared by family, school, and the workplace. High schools and

colleges take an active role in finding employment for their graduates. "In

general, the interlocking, overlapping, mutually reinforcing responsibilities
shared by the family, school, and company for the development of the
individual is an important factor behind the success of Japanese education"
(White, 1987, p. 73). Japan's high schools provide a broad academic foundation

and the opportunity for students to be selective in their choice of career path.

Upon graduation from junior high (grade 9), students take various high school
entrance exams to determine which high school they will attend. High school
entrance exams then sort each age cohort into what amounts to an eight- to tentier high school ranking system (Rohlen, 1983, p. 308). Future occupational and
status levels (elite, managerial, blue-collar, and so forth) are closely equated to

this ranking. Further, at the point of high school entrance the entire age cohort is
divided into three largely immutable classificatory distinctions: those leaving

school, those entering vocational ranks, and those going on to academic high
schools. The ratio of students attending academic (general) high schools has been
steadily increasing from 60 percent in 1970 to over 74 percent currently. The

other students attend specialized vocational schools in Agriculture, Industry,
Commerce, Fishery, Home Economics, Nursing and others. Since 1994, the

18

Monbusho has introduced comprehensive schools. Now, there is a trend toward
all high schools offering a more liberal education with significantly more choices
for students (Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 29). In Japan, over 95 percent of all

students are advancing to high school and nearly as many are graduating,
signifying the near demise of the high school degree as a mark of distinction. The
type of high school and the status of one's university were crucial measures.
High schools in Japan rely on exam competition for providing discipline and

foundations of learning, while leaving to universities and the workplaces the
final responsibilities for deciding what additional skills and specific training are
needed.

Higher Education
While parts of the Japanese education system are considered by many to be

the best in the world, higher education is considered by both the Japanese and
others to be seriously inadequate by international standards. The Report of the

University Council in 1991 recommended vast improvements in the quality of
teaching and research, in order to bring Japanese universities to the international
academic level (Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 33). The demand for excellence, so

prevalent from kindergarten through senior high school, stops at the university
doorstep. Consequently, the present system of higher education is not providing
knowledge, skills, and the creativity needed to enable Japan to compete globally

in the "information age" or to succeed in its long-range commitment to
restructure its manufacturing base (Haiducek, 1991, p. 40). A salient example is

found in an international comparison of Nobel Prizes (Natural Science,
1901-1995) awarded. While the U.S. with a population of over 260 million
produced 175 Nobel Prizes, Canada's population of 30 million produced seven

19

Nobel Prizes and yet Japan's population of 125 million has produced only five
Nobel Prizes (Ueda, 1997, p. 11, 109). A more recent example is the Japanese

government's inability to deal with the economic recession of the 1990s.

Financial experts in other G-7 countries repeatedly tried to advise the Japanese

government of dangers in their fiscal management policies but to no avail. At
least the Monbusho recognizes the deficiencies in Japanese higher education and,

as a result, is aggressively pursuing reforms, including importing American

institutions of higher education. Several American colleges and universities
including MIT, Harvard and UCLA have opened branches in Japan. Through
such attempts of internationalization, many Japanese see this as a means by
which they will be able to compete in the global economy and be fully accepted by

the rest of the world. Internationalization of education has been recognized by

the Monbusho as an important area of reform.
Traditionally, higher education in Japan has functioned as a selection
process used to maintain an elitist hierarchical structure. Through strict entrance
quotas and use of competitive entrance examinations, admission to the top
universities was limited. Nationwide, in 1980 about 40 percent of all graduates

were advancing to higher education, but from the public academic high schools
the rate was approximately 70 percent (Rohlen, 1983, p. 85). University

enrollments increased dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s and continued in
the 1980s and early 1990s with increased competition for entrance to the most

prestigious institutions. According to the Monbusho (1996), higher education
enrollment for high school graduates increased from a mere 10.2 percent of the
age cohort in 1960, and 18.7 percent in 1970, to a substantial 33.5 percent in 1980.

Although over 80 percent of high school freshmen aimed at higher education
there was insufficient space for all applicants (Rohlen, 1983, p. 82). However,

20

private universities and special training schools have absorbed increased

numbers of upper secondary school graduates wishing to continue their studies
and since the population "bulge" of the 1992 cohort of graduates, there has been

no need for further quantitative expansions in universities (Takakura & Murata,
1998, p. 33). For individuals not going to college it has meant beginning work

with a major disadvantage because they lacked the necessary credentials. Until
very recently, going back to school was not an option and rarely have the most

talented high school graduates gained promotion above university educated

employees. However, individuals fortunate enough to be admitted into the best
national universities such as Tokyo University or the exceptional private
universities such as Waseda, were assured a promising career in government or
business.

In recent years the Monbusho has attempted to change the elitist structure
of higher education, to reform the exam-based admissions to universities, and to

eliminate government and business links to the most prestigious institutions
(Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 30). However, the critical determining factor for

Japanese post-secondary students is still the university entrance examinations
rather than what is studied during the undergraduate degree. Japanese people
fondly reminisce about the freedom from study, work and adult responsibilities
they experienced as carefree university students. While North American higher
education demands hard work and intense study, Japanese higher education is
widely recognized and accepted as a place of rest and relaxation before facing the

rigours of the workplace.

While Japan's undergraduate programs are less than satisfactory, they are

relatively competent in comparison to graduate programs which have been
underdeveloped and widely recognized as an area where drastic improvements

30

21

must be made. On May 1995, only 68 percent of Japan's universities had a
graduate school and only 49 percent offered doctoral courses (Monbusho, 1996, p.

29). While the number of universities having a graduate school in education
increased from only three in 1985 to more than 43 in 1995, according to the

Monbusho, demands still exist for both qualitative and quantitative
improvements at graduate schools (Monbusho, 1996, p. 31; Shimahara, 1995b, p.

180). Current reform proposals seek to make graduate study in many fields more
accessible, but systematic strategies for achieving this goal have not been
developed (Hawley, 1990, p. 47). This remains a problem for Japan's universities,

however there is some evidence of universities becoming more flexible in
admissions and accommodating lifelong learning.
Despite these deficiencies in higher education, the needs of Japanese

society are for more vocational training and less university graduates. The
bachelor's degree is devalued as more and more receive it, yet the demand grows
for more technical skills. But Japan has entered an age of mass higher education,

and the trend is difficult to reverse. Japan's private sector has responded to the

demand for more higher education. The result is an abundance of institutions
but a lower quality of instruction.

Many Japanese post secondary institutions function outside the
mainstream. A case in point is the function of colleges in Japan and the

imbalance of male to female students in universities and colleges (FujimuraFanselow, 1993, pp. 163-165). Only recently has progress toward full equality of

participation for women in higher education been realized (Takakura & Murata,
1998, p. 34). However, many females attend a junior college. Most college

students will not go on to university. Junior colleges in Japan do not serve the
same role as colleges in Canada or the U.S.. University transfer is not an option

22

nor is it a goal for college graduates who enter the work force directly as

secretaries and junior employees. "Two out of every three females are headed for

junior colleges, whereas nine of every ten males are aiming at four-year
universities... Approximately 30 percent of those students going on past high
school attend junior colleges, yet 90 percent of them are female... The percentage
of women in four-year universities increased from 8 percent in 1960 to 18 percent
in 1980" (Rohlen, 1983, p. 85). Currently, 91.8 percent of students enrolled in

Japan's junior colleges are female while only 31.2 percent of university students
are females (Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 32). Although the ratio of females

enrolled in university has increased, clearly, as recognized by the Monbusho,

there is a need for further reforms to Japan's higher education.

Teacher Education

Japanese teacher education is regulated by national laws established by the

central government. The most important statute regulating the Japanese
national system of teacher education is the Law for Certification of Educational
Personnel, passed in 1849 and most recently revised in 1988. This, in conjunction
with other laws, set forth the basic characteristics of Japanese teacher education.
These may be briefly summarized as follows:

1. Certification and teacher training is the primary responsibility of the
Monbusho.

2. The Minister of Education is advised by the Council of Teacher Education,
which is composed of experts in teacher education. For major policy issues
public hearings are held.

3. Each of the 47 prefectures have boards of education which issue teaching
certificates valid for teaching in all prefectures.

23

4. New teachers are recruited by the prefectural boards of education annually

from qualified teachers and teachers in training through competitive
screening tests.

5. First year teachers have a one year probationary period before becoming
permanent employees. During this time they must receive significant inservice training.

6. The planning of all initial and in-service training is the prefectural board of
education's responsibility.

7. Universities and colleges where teacher training occurs must first be
authorized by the Ministry of Education as institutions of higher learning.
(Kobayashi, 1993, pp. 5-6)

Teacher education in Japan takes the form of a united pattern. The
curriculum for pre-service education at each university and college is developed
within the framework of the Law for Certification of Educational Personnel.
Since education is universally valued by Japanese society, teachers are highly
regarded, and well paid. Half the salary of educational personnel is paid by the

central government. This makes it possible for local governments to assign the
necessary number of teachers without being influenced by the local financial
situation. In this way, Japan has achieved its mandate for equal educational

opportunity.
In order to become a teacher, one must obtain a teacher's certificate by

completing the subjects in a university program for teacher education. The most
common way to become a certified teacher is to complete the teacher training

curricula at a Monbusho authorized junior college or university. At present
there are over 800 institutions offering teacher training throughout Japan
(Shimahara & Sakai, 1995). Advanced, 1st class, and 2nd class certificates are

awarded for completion of Master's degrees, four year Bachelor's degrees and 2-3
year Associate degrees respectively. In order to teach elementary or lower
secondary school a 2nd class certificate is required. There is no 2nd class certificate

24

for upper secondary school teachers. To teach in upper secondary schools a 1st
class certificate is required. As a result of recent reforms to teacher education,
teachers holding a 2nd class must make an effort to obtain a 1st class certificate by

taking 45 university credits upon completion of five years of teaching. The
number of credits can be reduced according to the number of years of teaching

experience. Currently, due to the increasing competition for teaching positions,
most new teachers obtain a four year Bachelor's degree and 1st class certificate, yet

only one-fourth of all graduates receive teaching appointments (Shimahara &
Sakai, 1995). Consequently, there is a trend for teachers to attain higher degrees.

According to Takakura and Murata (1998) more than 90 percent of teachers from

primary school to upper secondary school have graduated from institutions of
higher education (university or junior college). However, Japanese pre-service
teachers take considerably fewer courses for certification compared to B.C.'s

teachers. Until the recent reforms in teacher education, most prospective high
school teachers in Japan took approximately 32-40 credits in their subject area,
and merely 11-13 credits in pedagogical studies (Hawley, 1990, p. 38). Shimahara
and Sakai add:

The flaw of postwar teacher preparation was evident especially in
the certification requirements at the secondary level that were in
force until 1990: merely 14 credits of professional studies, including
two credits in student teaching, equivalent to two weeks of clinical
experience. Students seeking teacher certification at institutions
whose primary mission was not teacher education tended to meet
only the minimum requirements. These were the students who, of
late, filled two-thirds of the lower secondary positions and ninetenths of the upper secondary positions in the public school system
(1995, p. 234).

However, since 1990 modest improvements have been made in the number of
professional credits necessary for certification. For example, an upper secondary

teacher must now obtain 40 credits in their subject area and nineteen credits in

f,4

25

professional subjects including: essence and goals of education; teaching

methods; educational guidance and counseling; and a teaching practicum
(Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 86-89). This pre-service training is still much less

than the 60 credits of a four year Bachelor's degree and the equivalent of two full
academic years (30 credits) of methods courses and pedagogical studies required

of education students at B.C.'s universities. Also, the practicum for both Japanese

and B.C. students continues to be an area where improvements are necessary.

Comparisons Between B.C. and Japanese Teachers

While Japanese teachers are expected to address all aspects of students' life

at school, B.C. teachers tend to be primarily concerned with the development of
cognitive competence. The role of teachers is different in each educational

system and culture. In North America, teaching is considered to be an
idiosyncratic profession and the common lore is that teachers can't be taught
how to teach because they are born not made (Rohlen & LeTendre, 1996; cf.
Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). According to Takakura and Murata (1998), the view of

'teaching as a profession' is a relatively new concept in Japan. Rather, teaching is
a craft that can be perfected through practice and learned through the shared

wisdom of experienced teachers. Stigler, Fernandez and Yoshida provide an

excellent metaphor:
If music were used as an analogy, the Japanese conception of the
ideal teacher would be like that of the concert pianist: the great
pianist is not expected to write the concerto but only to perform it
well. The American teacher, by analogy, is expected not only to
teach but also to write the score. An innovative teacher in the
United States is one who organizes her own curriculum, makes her
own materials, and implements her lessons with independent
initiative. In Japan, the innovative teacher is one who skillfully
teaches the lesson that is prescribed by the text (1996, p. 216).

26

In Japanese schools, beginners learn a great deal from experienced teachers

through informal contact or zatsudan as well as programs of in-service training.
This is often a one-way pedagogical exchange however, with little to be offered

from the neophyte to the seasoned veteran mentor teacher. Therefore, it is
difficult for new teaching strategies to be disseminated from universities through
student teachers and eventually to become accepted by the mainstream, since it is

assumed the more experienced teachers must pass down all the lessons to be
learned. In British Columbia, frequently just the opposite is true. Experienced

teachers learn a great deal from their student teachersit is widely recognized as
one of the best forms of professional development, since teachers do not have

many opportunities for collaboration and peer consultation. Many recent
developments such as criterion referenced assessment have only become a part
of the repertoire of experienced teachers through interactions with students.
Teachers in both B.C. and Japan tend to view learning to teach as an

apprenticeship where practical knowledge learned while teaching takes

precedent over theory learned in university.
The Japanese in-service training of teachers serves as a model for the
enculturation of beginning teachers and has been recognized as a lesson to be
learned from the Japanese educational system (Rohlen & LeTendre, 1996;
Shimahara & Sakai, 1995; Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). In Japan, all newly

appointed teachers undergo 20 days of intensive training at their prefecturallevel in-service center prior to taking their positions. New teachers are provided
with the equivalent of 125 days of professional development during their first
year under the tutelage of one or more senior teachers. First year teachers in
Japan now receive one year of mentoring from a specially trained master teacher
(Hawley, 1990, p. 42; Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 91). "It consists of supervised

27

teaching by senior teachers in schools two days per week for 30 weeks, study in

local education centres one day per week for 30 weeks, and residential training
for 4 nights" (Kobayashi, 1993, p.10). Professional development in teaching is

further enhanced by local education centres providing ongoing in-service
training and "hands on" experiences for secondary specialists and elementary
generalists alike. Much like the rest of Japanese professions, most of the training
occurs in the workplace. Pre-service training of teachers includes a general

education with professional courses in pedagogical theory, educational
psychology, teaching methods as well as specialized subjects. However, the

teacher education programs are characterized by courses that have little
relevance to the classroom and a practicum that consists of a very short stay of
only a few weeks in a school. Many previous graduates of British Columbia's

teacher education programs lament similar weaknesses, but there is an
important distinction; while pre-service teacher education programs in B.C. may

be superior to the Japanese programs, Japanese professional development and inservice training for the beginning teacher far surpass B.C.'s "sink or swim" first
year teaching experiences.

During a two year stay in Japan (1990-1992), the writer was an assistant

English teacher in lower secondary schools in the Tokyo area and observed inservice and pre-service teachers of English classes. On one occasion, in the

writer's grade 9 English class, a student teacher was observed at the same time he

was being evaluated by his faculty advisor. The student teacher taught the same
lesson, in exactly the same way, using the same style as his sponsor teacher. In

fact, the entire lesson had been rehearsed previously for the benefit of the

student teacher and the faculty advisor. The "performance" however, was
abysmal. The student teacher appeared to be very anxious and uncomfortable in

28

his role as a teacher. He refused to face the students. Instead he talked to the

board while moving around nervously. Despite the fact that the material was not
new to the students and the entire lesson was a repetition, this was the first (and
last) time this student teacher taught this class. The writer later learned that most

sponsor teachers would rather not have a student teacher at all, and that this one
class was done merely as a show to appease the faculty advisor.

Japan's teachers recognize that the university does little to prepare student
teachers for the profession of teaching and teachers do little to change the status

quo. This is further illustrated in Stevenson and Stigler's The Learning Gap:
The real training of Asian teachers occurs in their on-the-job
experience after graduation from college... graduates of teacher
training programs are still considered novices who need the
guidance and support of their experienced colleagues... the system of
teacher training is much like an apprenticeship (Stevenson &
Stigler, 1992, p. 159).

This is in contrast to the experience of B.C.'s teachers, who complain that

most of what they know had to be learned by themselves, alone, in isolation,
while on the job. There is a serious deficiency in B.C.'s public education since

there is little provision for mentorship and insufficient time to reflect on
teaching practices. Teacher education is limited to pre-service training with a lack

of emphasis on in-service training. This situation is less than ideal.

Educational Reforms in B.C. and Japan

While Western countries are attempting educational reforms to promote
national standards and a centralized uniform system, Japan is attempting to

decentralize their education and to make it more comprehensive rather than
more focused. "Comparatively speaking, Japanese and American school reforms
are now evolving in opposite directions. Japan is slowly diversifying its schools

29

while the United States is trying to promote new national academic standards"
(Shimahara, 1995a; Takakura, 1993). In Japan, where the central government

plays a decisive role in determining policy, two diverse trends in teacher

education have emerged. On the one hand, the professionalization of teachers

has improved due to the increasing requirements for professional training, and
on the other hand, liberalization has taken place through the addition of
programs in non teaching areas.
British Columbia's reforms to teacher education have been predominately
influenced by the faculty of education at each of the universities. Despite much
progress in professional teacher training, criticism of faculties of education has
remained quite strong (Goodson, 1995). University schools of education have

tended to distance themselves from the concerns of classroom teachers, and the
research agenda has not often produced knowledge useful to the practitioner.

Also, there are no permanent, durable models of teacher training (Barman,
Sutherland, & Wilson, 1995, p. 313). The Carnegie Report, A Nation Prepared:

Teachers for the 21st Century (1986), the report of the Holmes Group,
Tomorrow's Teachers (1986), and John Goodlad's, Teachers of Our Nation's

Schools (1990), all conclude that schools/colleges/faculties of education need
reform.

Perkins (1992) makes convincing arguments for reforms to pre-service and
in-service teacher education. He suggests Japan's educational system offers a

model for the professional development of teachers and the promotion of potent
teaching practices. The key elements of Japan's model include: time to think, a

shared culture of the craft of teaching, and an apprenticeship model of teacher
development. Japanese teachers spend less hours per day actually teaching classes

than their British Columbian counterparts. More time is devoted to thinking

30

and reflecting about their teaching. "They plan lessons, share plans with one
another, get critiques, attend workshops, observe other teachers teaching, watch

videotapes of teaching practices... Through organized time and commitment,
teachers can learn to teach much better than native ingenuity alone could allow"
(Perkins, 1992, p. 225). Rather than working in isolation, Japan's teachers

recognize the power of collaboration. This is even evident in the very physical
structure of the schools. For example, the staff room is arranged with teachers of
each grade level seated at desks grouped together, in order to promote daily

exchanges. This is where all the teachers plan their lessons during several hours
of the working day when they are not in front of the classroom. This is in direct
contrast to teachers in B.C., who do most of their lesson planning at home or in

the isolation of their own classroom.
Teacher Education Reforms in B.C. and Japan

Several educational reforms involving cost-saving and efficiency
measures are being contemplated by the B.C. Ministry of Education. These

include: year round schooling, efficiency scheduling (for example, the extended
school day), and different timetables (Semester System, Copernican, Quarter

System). None of these "reforms" in their current vein address the underlying
problems of the education system nor do they improve student learning or
teacher training. Money saved is not likely to go back into the education of young
people.

31

Summary
Many of Japan's practices are complementary or similar to current
suggested reforms to B.C.'s education system. Yet, the B.C. and Japanese models

are far from perfect. Improvements must be made to the teacher education

programs of Japan's universities and to the pedagogical training of pre-servie
teachers. This fact is widely recognized by educators in Japan. "We must pay

more attention to student teaching through which a sense of mission as a teacher
might arise. If the transition from pre-service preparation is not attended to, the

effects of teacher improvements in education may have little influence on the
quality of teaching in Japan (Mizoue & Inoue, 1993, p. 28). Through further

international comparative studies, the Japanese teacher education programs can
be improved. Much can be learned from British Columbia's teacher education
programs. Likewise, British Columbia's training of teachers can be improved by

studying Japan's apprenticeship model of in-service training and professional

development. Teachers must be given opportunities to learn from one another
and to benefit from the accumulated wisdom of generations of skilled
practitioners. In addition, teachers must be given adequate time for collaboration,

planning and reflection. The reforms of education in both British Columbia and
Japan require a rethinking of the profession of teaching. Critical thinking is an

essential element of these reforms, for any effort to reform the structure or

organization of education ultimately depends on the effectiveness of the teacher.

41

32

CHAPTER 3

CRITICAL THINKING
The teaching of critical thinking at all levels of education has strong support
in North America, the UK and elsewhere (Daniels, 1998, p.1). "The field of critical

thinking is more vibrant than ever. There is much research in progress on the
meaning of critical thinking, on the transferability of critical thinking skills to a
wide range of subject areas, and on methods of teaching critical thinking" (Norris,
1985, p. 40).

The Components of Critical Thinking
There is debate about what is meant by the term "critical thinking." In the
past, attempts to define critical thinking encompassed its form and function,
including skills and strategies as well as levels of complexity involved. Often critical

thinking is linked to creative thinking, problem solving and decision making as
well as inductive and deductive reasoning. However, terms such as creative
thinking, problem solving and decision-making refer to the circumstances in which
critical thinking may occur (Daniels, 1998, p.1). Conversely, some educational

philosophers argue that critical thinking is inductive, encompassing divergent and
creative thinking skills. Others contend it is primarily deductive, convergent and
logical in nature.

There are certain elements that may or may not be included in a
definition. One element is concerned with whether critical thinking is
convergent or divergent. Another describes what the critical thinker
does. A third element focuses on the attitude or disposition of the
thinker. You don't usually find all three elements in every definition
(French & Rhoder, 1992, p. 184).

Daniels (1998) characterizes critical thinking as a normative concept. A critical

thinker is someone who is thinking well. To think well in any area of human

4N

33

practice one must make judgments using relevant criteria and standards. Mc Peck
(1990), Norris, Siegel and Paul have trouble agreeing on a common critical thinking
paradigm. Paul characterizes critical thinking as...

a unique kind of purposeful thinking in which the thinker
systematically and habitually imposes criteria and intellectual
standards upon the thinking; taking charge of the construction of
thinking; guiding the construction of thinking according to the
standards while assessing the effectiveness of the thinking according to
the purpose, the criteria, and the standards (1993, p. 21).
Nevertheless, Norris argues that many questions associated with critical thinking,

which philosophers have attempted to answer, involve empirical issues. Since
these concern the nature of human mental abilities, hypotheses should be tested
empirically by researchers if there are no philosophers inclined to tackle the
problem.

What then is critical thinking? How is critical thinking different from

creative thinking, problem solving and other forms of thinking? BlodgettMcDeavitt's (1995) survey of adult educators found that critical thinking is perceived
as a process and a broad concept, with two general components: reflective and
analytical. Respondents discussed the reflective nature of critical thinking as

"looking at the bigger scheme of things," "thinking about other alternatives," and
"it's the idea that it's not in isolation." Respondents discussed the analytical
component in terms of the "ability to do very complex reasoning (and) to think

about things from different perspectives." A common element frequently included

in most critical thinking literature is reasoning. Reasoning involves "the
production and evaluation of arguments, the making of inferences and the drawing
of conclusions, the generation and testing of hypotheses. It requires both deduction
and induction, both analysis and synthesis, and both criticality and creativity"
(Nickerson, 1986, pp. 1-2). Creativity requires critical thinking since... "both critical

43

34

filtering and critical characterizations contribute to the creativity of a creative
product. Accordingly, it is somewhat misleading to posit two completely separate

styles of thought critical and creativebecause the former is necessarily a part of the
latter" (Nickerson, Perkins & Smith, 1985, p. 89). In addition, Paul (1993) suggests

critical thinking differs from problem solving. It does not involve sequential steps
but a group of skills and strategies chosen and used as needed. A working definition

of critical thinking used in this thesis is essentially deeper thinking or higher order

thinking.
Learning Critical Thinking
An analysis of teachers' conceptions of critical thinking must be placed within
the larger framework of cognitive and educational psychology. Piaget, Kholberg,

Selmen, Bloom, Vygotsky and Guilford each proposed different developmental
models describing the stages of learning. All theories of cognitive development are

grounded in the principles that people develop at different rates, development is
relatively orderly and development takes place gradually. Piaget's cognitive
development theory contains four stages: (1) sensorimotor; (2) pre-operational; (3)

concrete operational and (4) formal operational. The fourth and final stage in
Piaget's theory is characterized by the use of propositional thinking, combinatorial
analysis, and abstract reasoning. According to Piaget, most children between the ages

of eleven and fifteen are capable of reaching the formal operational stage (Inhelder
& Piaget, 1958). However, Kuhn (1979) contends that many adults will never reach

the formal operational stage. If this is true, then critical thinking may not be attained
by everyone, as Piaget's final stage reflects higher order cognitive processes.

Kholberg's stages of moral judgement and Selman's stages of social
perspective taking both parallel Piaget's cognitive stages (Muuss, 1988). The concrete

44

35

operations in Piaget's model correspond to Kohlberg's preconventional level of

moral development. Similarly, the shift from childhood to adolescence involves a
dramatic shift from concrete to abstract thought processes and in moral judgements.

The relationship between these theories is such that the attainment of Piaget's
cognitive stages is a necessary precondition for the attainment of the corresponding
level of Kholberg's moral judgement and Selmen's societal perspective-taking.

Thus, the mastery of higher order thinking skills does not guarantee the individual
has attained the same level of moral reasoning (Muuss, 1988).
Bloom's (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives from the cognitive
domain consists of six levels (listed in order of complexity): (1) knowledge; (2)

comprehension; (3) application; (4) analysis; (5) synthesis; and (6) evaluation. The

higher order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation are not attainable
until the other lower order skills have been well developed. Therefore, critical

thinking may not be a realistic learning outcome until students have demonstrated
the lower order skills of knowledge, comprehension and application. Moreover,
younger students and mentally challenged individuals may not be capable of critical

thinking.
Whereas Piaget characterized a child's learning as a little scientist constructing
an understanding of the world largely alone, Vygotsky (1978) proposed a zone of

proximal development depending primarily on a child's interactions with other
people within their environment. The zone of proximal development is a phase in
which a child can master a task given appropriate support. Thus, children can reach

their full learning potential and most can demonstrate critical thinking provided
they are given the necessary scaffolding.
Guilford's (1966) Structure of Intellect (SI) theory suggests intelligence is

comprised of operations, contents, and products. There are five kinds of operations

45

36

(cognition, memory, divergent production, convergent production and evaluation),
six kinds of products (units, classes, relations, systems, transformations and

implications), and five kinds of contents (visual, auditory, symbolic, semantic, and
behavioural). Thus, there are theoretically 150 different components of intelligence.

Reasoning and problem solving skills (convergent and divergent operations) can be
subdivided into 30 distinct abilities. Although critical thinking was not mentioned
by Guilford directly, it likely constitutes a synthesis of many of these thinking
abilities.

Critical thinking cannot be learned in isolation. Perhaps it cannot be taught
explicitly. However, it can be integrated in all subject areas and related to the ideas

students already have. A broad, holistic, and global approach to teaching critical

thinking is necessary. "Critical thinking often requires imagining possible
consequences, generating original approaches, or identifying alternative

perspectives. Thus virtually any form of human practice can involve critical
thinking" (Daniels, 1998, p. 1). Furthermore, critical thinking may have different

connotations within the contexts of various nations and yet there is likely common
elements to be shared. While different education systems tend to support different

epistemologies, all have the same ultimate goalto prepare students for life beyond
secondary school. A common definition of critical thinking may not be shared by all.

One must account for the cultural and contextual aspects of thinking as well.

However, a broader definition of critical thinking should be relevant and
understood by educators in both British Columbia and Japan.

Distortions of Critical Thinking in the Media

The term "critical thinking" is not well understood. It may have become a

"buzzword" in education used without much thought to its meaning by many

46

37

educators, politicians and the general public. Developing "critical thinking skills" is
seen by some as a panacea to the ills of B.C.'s education system as illustrated by the

following quotes from the Vancouver Sun newspaper:

From Dilbert by Scott Adams:
Character 1: "I teach my kids that these things are right and these things
are wrong. Period. End of Story.

Character 2: "Wouldn't that teach them to believe anything they're told
without applying any critical thinking?"
Character 1: "I don't think about that."
Character 2: "Duh."
(1997 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)

From January 25, 1999 Vancouver Sun, p. A10:
The application of critical thinking, problem solving, analytical and
communication skills is required for successful completion of
courses... thereby fulfilling an important tenet of a university

educationeducation for living and education for making a living.
(John Pierce, Dean of Arts, Simon Fraser University)
From June 22, 1999 Vancouver Sun, p. All:
The well-educated person can analyze problems in a critical manner,
conduct research, make creative connections of data and when
necessary, communicate and work effectively with others to find
solutions. At least that is what educators tell us. (Gary Bauslaugh,
former college educator and administrator)

From September 4, 1998 Vancouver Sun:, p. E7:
Kids today are likely to have three or four job changes in the future,
unlike their parents, so they need skills around problem-solving and
critical thinking. (Dorothy Fowler, principal, Burnaby Central
Secondary School)
From September 4, 1998 Vancouver Sun, p. E3:
The ministry has been updating its courses since 1995. By 2000 all
curricula will emphasize problem-solving and critical thinking, literacy
and communication, team work, and information technology. (Lori
Culbert)

38

Critical Thinking Research

Critical thinking is a topic of great importance to both Japan's and British

Columbia's education systems. Although there is much interest, little data is
available, since few comparative studies have been done. This is perhaps due to a
recognition and appreciation of the difficulties associated with international

comparative research in education. In Altbach's words, "Comparative and
international education is a field without a clear research agenda, without widely
accepted paradigms for research, without agreed methodologies, and without a clear

hierarchy... (Nevertheless), ...comparative educators are in a position to benefit
from a growing international consciousness in education in many countries"
(Altbach & Tan, 1995, p. xviii). Further research is necessary on comparative

education research methodologies and on such topics for comparison as current
teaching strategies, independent or student centred learning, critical thinking and

the role of the teacher. This will help to improve student learning. In addition, it
will provide a cross-cultural and international understanding and appreciation of
learning.

Educators cannot continue to function as national practitioners. Few
can stick to the old style of thinking and behaving as they once did... As
it is irrelevant for any society to import a ready-made model of
modernization, so it is for any to import or to export an education
system. Innovation in teacher education can be most difficult.
Globalism as a paradigm is still vague in shape and characteristic.
However, the recent discussion about system theories show that the
world is moving very slowly but steadily toward a new system. In a
global age, the teaching profession should be reformed, and the ways of
educating and training teachers also need to be transformed.
Comparative globalism may work as a strategy for innovation in
teacher education (Ochoa & Suzuki, 1993, p. 74).

Clearly, critical thinking is a fundamental concept in education that requires
further research. These ideas are essential elements to the conceptual framework for
this study.

39

CHAPTER 4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study was designed to compare and contrast British Columbia and
Japanese high school teachers' conceptions of critical thinking across the
dimensions of culture, subject area, experience, age and gender. To facilitate this

comparison, a two part survey instrument was designed (see Appendix A for the
English version and Appendix B for the Japanese version). Here is a description

of the schools and teachers selected; the instrument development; the
procedures used and the data preparation.

Sample

The sample consisted of 159 teachers from ten high schools in B.C. and
Japan. Six schools were selected from the Lower Mainland of B.C. and four
schools were chosen from the Kanto region of Japan. Of the 71 B.C. teachers

surveyed there were 38 men and 33 women. Of the 88 Japanese teachers surveyed

there were 75 men and 13 women. Table 1 summarizes the nature of the schools.
Table 1 Descriptions of B.C. and Japanese Schools Selected
School
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Category

Student
Average annual
household incomel Enrollment2

comprehensive
comprehensive
Enver Creek
Princess Margaret comprehensive
comprehensive
Fleetwood Park
comprehensive
North Surrey
comprehensive
Elgin Park

Queen Elizabeth

7. Komaba
8. Otsuka
9. Tsukuba

10. Sakado

elite academic
general academic
vocational
comprehensive

Number of
Teachers2

$ 42,600
$ 55,700
$ 40,200
$ 60,500
$ 55,400
$ 87,300

1610
1320
1464
1241
1128
1113

89
72
80
72
69

V 5,940,000
V 7,060,000
V 7,340,000
V 7,700,000

491
724
565
478

46
44

Teachers
Surveyed

61

60

42

Notes: 1Based on 1996 Canada Census and 1999 Japanese Ward Offices data for each school's
catchment area. As Komaba's students come from all over Tokyo, the number is an average for
Greater Tokyo. 2Enrollments and staffing as of September 2000.

49

10

27
12
12
8
2

18

28
17
25

40

Although the two national samples are well balanced in terms of schools
chosen and teachers surveyed, it is necessary to acknowledge the differences in
ethnicity, religion and SES. Japan is a far greater homogeneous society than

British Columbia. There are few ethnic minorities and assimilation is the norm
for the marginal groups such as Japanese born Koreans. B.C.'s ethnic pluralism

and multiculturalism is in stark contrast to Japan's racial homogeneity and
intolerance for others. While there are some Christians, Jews and other religions
in Japan, Japanese are predominantly Buddhist and Shinto. However, they
readily accept other religions in harmony with Buddhist beliefs. In fact

Buddhism and Shinto are not practiced with religious fanaticism but rather are

incorporated into everyday life as cultural traditions. An overwhelming
majority of Japanese do not belong to any church nor do they practice any

religious ceremonies other that those that are a part of their culture relating to
birth, death and seasonal festivals. B.C. is predominantly Christian, however
there is greater religious diversity than in Japan. In particular, The Lower

Mainland has significant immigrant populations of Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists,
and other religious groups. Most people within Japanese society consider

themselves middle class. The participants in this study were no different. The
teachers surveyed in B.C. and Japan were predominantly middle class as were

most of the parents and students from the schools surveyed (see Table 1). While
there were some differences in SES among the schools, this was not a major

factor in determining the representativeness of the study.

Schools

The high schools and teachers involved in this study were selected on the
basis of geographic, academic and other comparative considerations. High

41

schools of similar composition (size, student/teacher population, grade levels,
socioeconomic status, age of teachers, and subjects offered) were chosen. Special

schools appealing specifically to academically or vocationally inclined students

were only included from Japan since these are an important part of the Japanese
school system, while they are relatively insignificant in B.C.'s school system. A

serious attempt was made to choose schools that were comparable and
representative of each system. The collective data from all the teachers in each

region represents an "average school" in nearly all respects. All the schools
chosen were located in communities close to major urban centres. Yet they were

neither "inner-city" nor "country" schools.
Geographically and systemically, in comparing schools, one consideration

taken into account was the location of each school within their school district
and region (see Figures 1-4).

Stv.vire.

.

. *if Li

:.. ,Ternk
fKicimat

.'

,:.:BRIT1S11..
,. Daionnrjeek

Figure 2. Map of British Columbia2

Figure 1. Map of Japan1

1Tokyo -A Bilingual Atlas (p. 148), 1991, New York: Kodansha. Copyright 1991 by Kodansha.
2Canada Map, 1997, Victoria: Davenport Maps Ltd.. Copyright 1997 by Davenport Maps Ltd..
Adapted with permission.

51

42

Figure 3. Map of The Lower Mainland (Greater Vancouver)3

ssf'

1

a s an Secondary Schools

1. Komaba
2. Otsuka
3. Tsukuba
4. Sakado

Figure 4. Map of Kanto Region (Greater Tokyo)4
3B.C. Map, 1997, Victoria: Davenport Maps Ltd. Copyright 1997 by Davenport Maps Ltd.
4Tokyo-A Bilingual Atlas (pp. 6-7), 1991, New York: Kodansha. Copyright 1991 by Kodansha.
Adapted with permission.

43

Two of the Japanese schools selected were located within Tokyo (Komaba

and Otsuka). The Ibaraki (Tsukuba High School of Technology) and Saitama
(Sakado) schools were located within the prefectures of Ibaraki and Saitama. All
four schools were within the Kanto region of Japan. The six B.C. schools chosen
(Queen Elizabeth, Enver Creek, Princess Margaret, Fleetwood Park, North Surrey

and Elgin Park) were located within the school district of Surrey, a municipality
within the Lower Mainland of B.C. In this respect, Surrey's public high schools
are comparable to Ibaraki-ken's and Saitama-ken's public high schools. However,
the comparison is complicated since Ibaraki and Saitama are prefectures (much

like a province in Canada) with many private high schools and national high
schools in addition to the prefectural public high schools. Two schools (Komaba

and Otsuka) chosen were from municipalities (Meguro-Ku and Bunkyo-Ku
respectively) within the city of Greater Tokyo itself. Japan's high schools offer

students many choices; from schools with a special focus such as vocational

training or academics to comprehensive high schools that appeal to a wide range
of students with various backgrounds and goals after graduation. For this reason,
the four Japanese public high schools selected were (1) academic (Komaba); (2)

academic/general (Otsuka); (3) vocational (Tsukuba High School of Technology);

and (4) comprehensive (Sakado), respectively in order to facilitate a comparison

with B.C.'s comprehensive public high schools which are the norm. In Japan,
approximately 70 percent of students attend public high schools of which over 70

percent are academic/general. The proportion of vocational high schools has
been steadily decreasing to the present level of approximately 25 percent
(Takakura & Murata, 1998, p. 29). In 1994, as a result of the educational reforms to

the the high school curriculum, Sakado High School changed from a vocational
school specializing in agriculture to a comprehensive school, offering other

44

courses leading to different paths upon graduation. Although the trend in Japan
is for high schools to become comprehensive in nature, these are few in number
since it was only in 1994 that the change to comprehensive schools began to be

implemented.

In addition, the nature of institutions within each education system
required careful selection of suitable schools and participants. Most high schools
in B.C. enrolled local students from grades 8 through 12 and did not require

entrance exams. Hence, they were open to all students who resided within the
catchment area of the school. On the other hand, all Japanese high schools enroll
students from grades 10 through 12 and require entrance exams and, as such,

may choose the most appropriate students. Therefore, it was not uncommon for
high school students to travel a great distance to attend the best schools. For this
reason, again academic, vocational and comprehensive Japanese high schools,

enrolling local students were chosen in order to facilitate the comparison. In the
selection of high schools in B.C., an attempt was made to choose high schools
that were closely matched in terms of grade levels offered. For example, Queen
Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey has traditionally been a senior secondary
school (grades 11-12) but at the time of the study was in transition to a full
secondary school (grades 8-12). The teachers at this school had been teaching
students between the ages of 15 to 18 years. This was comparable to the age of

Japanese high school students which were from "kouko-no ichi-nen sei" to "sannen sei" (grades 10-12 and ages 15 to 18 years). All schools chosen had an average

population of staff and students representative of their respective school systems.

45

Teachers

Teachers were deliberately chosen from a variety of subject backgrounds,
ages and experience. Due to the relatively small sample sizes for each group
(Japanese n=88 and B.C. n=71), it was necessary to select sufficient numbers of

language arts teachers, science teachers and other subject specialists as well as a

range of ages and experience of teachers. Thus, possible relationships between the
variables of subject area, age, teaching experience and the teachers' conceptions of

critical thinking could be investigated and analyzed across the two cultures.

Teachers were approached in person in the staff room or in their classroom once
the Principal and school district gave approval to do so. Each teacher's subject

area and their approximate age and experience was known. It was easier to obtain

data from Japanese participants since their principals exercise much more power
than Western counterparts. Consequently, when Japanese teachers were asked to
participate by their principal most were "willing" to do so. In contrast, the B.C.

teachers' participation rates were lower since they did not feel obliged to
complete the survey. Since data collection from the Japanese schools was more
efficient, only four schools were visited, whereas six schools were surveyed in
B.C. in order to obtain a comparably sized sample. Ironically, it was more difficult

to obtain data from teachers in the researcher's own school district than from the
Japanese school teachers! Nonetheless, of the 159 teachers chosen, only one

teacher did not agree to complete the survey. Finally, it should be noted that the
researcher is not one of the teachers in the sample.

46

Instrument Development
Critical Thinking Cards

A list of descriptors of critical thinking (words/phrases) was derived
primarily from the literature review (see in particular, Mc Peck, 1990; Nickerson,
1986; Nickerson, Perkins and Smith, 1985; Norris, 1985; Paul, 1993) but also from

B.C. and Japanese teachers. These descriptors were then printed on index cards
(see Figure 5) in a large bold-faced font (first in English and later in Japanese on

the other side).

Analysis
Figure 5. Example of a Critical Thinking Card

A card sort procedure was chosen since it was visual and tactile. This

method of obtaining data allowed participants to manipulate the descriptors of

critical thinkinghelping to facilitate classification in a manner most
appropriate to each participant. One language arts teacher actually spread all the
cards out on a table and preceded to analyze them structurally and linguistically!
Others preferred to cycle through the index cards like a deck of playing cards,

eliminating definers as they shuffled the deck.

Translation of Critical Thinking Definers
Each critical thinking definer was double-translated for a check of accuracy

and reliability. This was accomplished by consulting two Japanese individuals

with backgrounds in education. The first individual (a graduate student in
education at Tsukuba University, Japan) translated the English words into

56

47

Japanese. Then, the second individual (a certified teacher in Japan and a Japanese
teacher currently in B.C.) translated these Japanese words back into English. All

the definers from this new list were exactly the same as the original definers or

were close enough that a native speaker could easily understand their meaning.

Procedures

The research reported here involved four phases spread over a period of
two years.

Phase 1Pilot Study
First, a pilot survey was conducted in order to determine the suitability of
the research question to education in B.C. and Japan. During the summer of 1997,
several Japanese high schools in the Kanto region (in the vicinity of Tokyo) were
visited. Teachers from a variety of backgrounds, including English language

specialists, graduate students in education, and university professors in
educational studies, were contacted through personal references. Teachers were

interviewed with the aid of an interpreter, about their conceptions of critical
thinking. They were asked, "What is 'critical thinking'?" In addition, lessons
were observed. Then in the fall of 1997, several high schools in B.C.'s Lower

Mainland (in the vicinity of Vancouver) were visited. During these visits to high
schools in B.C. and Japan, approximately twenty teachers were each asked to

provide words or phrases describing "critical thinking." A list of critical thinking

descriptors was thus generated from the relevant literature (British Columbia
Ministry of Education, 1993; French and Rhoder, 1992; Haladyna, 1997; Mc Peck,
1990; Nickerson, 1986; Nickerson, Perkins and Smith 1985; Norris, 1985, 1988;

Paul, 1993; Veruin, 1996) and from the input of teachers.

57

48

Phase 2Instrument Design
Next, a list of 50 definers describing the most common teachers'

conceptions of critical thinking was derived from the pilot survey. These

definers were then translated into Japanese and English with a double
translation for a check of reliability. Each definer was then written on an index
card (English on one side and Japanese on the other; see Appendix C for a

complete list). In addition, a questionnaire was designed including basic
demographic information (gender, age, subject area, and years of teaching
experience) as well as open-ended questions concerning teachers' conceptions of
critical thinking (see Appendix A for the English version and Appendix B for the

Japanese translation of the teacher questionnaire).

Phase 3Survey of B.C. Teachers
From late June 1998 through December 1998, 71 teachers from six Surrey

schools in B.C. were selected on a voluntary basis to participate in the study. They

were approached individually and were asked to (1) classify the cards as relevant

to critical thinking or not relevant to critical thinking and then (2) to choose the
ten most significant cards and rank them 1-10. The researcher was present

during the card sort procedure and the questionnaire but only to clarify the

procedures. However, generally, no additional intervention or explanation was
required. Any questions about the critical thinking definers were not answered
with any explanation. Rather, the response was invariably, "If you are unsure
about the meaning of a word, place it in the 'other' pile. Only place words that
you are sure relate to critical thinking, in the critical thinking pile." Each
participant's critical thinking definers chosen were tallied in a spreadsheet of all
50 critical thinking cards and then the ranking was noted (see Appendix C).

49

Phase 4Survey of Japanese Teachers
In March 1999, the questionnaire/card sort was administered to 88
secondary teachers at the four high schools in the Kanto region of Japan.
Japanese participants were chosen in much the same way as their B.C.

counterparts, with the assistance of Dr. Tanaka from Tsukuba University in

Japan. The writer's bilingual and bicultural skills proved helpful as well as the
personal contacts made during previous visits to Japan.

Data Preparation and Analysis
Once the data was collected, the Japanese questionnaires were photocopied

and translated into English. The answers to the open-ended questions were read,

summarized and then coded as to their relevance to critical thinking. Then the
quantitative data from the card sort and the demographic information was
entered into SPSS. Each participant was coded by school, number and country of
origin. If a respondent chose a critical thinking definer it was recorded as a "1"

and if they did not choose a definer it was recorded as a "0". In addition, the top
ten definers chosen and ranked were coded as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Coding of Critical Thinking (CT) Definers Card Sort
Code

Ranking
CT definer not chosen
CT definer chosen but not ranked

0

#10
#9
#8
#7
#6
#5
#4
#3
#2

2
3
4
5
6

1

7
8
9

10
11

#1

Note: In order to facilitate the data analysis, the ranking of the top ten definers were coded such
that a definer ranked #1 was entered into SPSS as an '11'. Thus, definers that were considered less
important were given sequentially smaller numerical values.

59

50

Separate fields were used for gender, age, teaching subject, number of years

teaching and the responses to "Is critical thinking part of the curriculum for your
subject area?" and "Is critical thinking taught in your classroom?" Next, the

critical thinking data was transformed and new variables were introduced so that
there was a copy of the data that showed all definers chosen as relevant to critical

thinking as "1" and those not chosen as "0." In other words, if a non-zero
number was in a cell for critical thinking definers it was transformed into a "1"
meaning "chosen." Finally, using the SPSS data file the variables age and
teaching experience were grouped into decades and five year intervals

respectively in order to facilitate the analysis. The rationale for this is that novice

teachers likely have different ideas than veteran teachers. From the writer's
perspective and in discussions with those surveyed, teachers go through a series
of phases: (1) acculturation (1-4 years); (2) growth as a new professional (5-9

years); (3) establishing routines and firm teaching philosophy (10-14 years); and

(4) either maintaining the status quo or embracing new teaching strategies (15+

years). Thus, it seemed natural to investigate age and teaching experience with
these groupings in addition to the characteristics of gender and subject areas.

Summary
The sample consisted of 159 teachers from six B.C. high schools and four

Japanese high schools. Teachers were chosen from a variety of subject

backgrounds, ages and experience. The research involved four phases spread
over a period of two years. First, a pilot survey was conducted in order to

determine the suitability of the research question to education in B.C. and Japan.
Next, a list of 50 definers describing the most common teachers' conceptions of

critical thinking was derived from the pilot survey and literature review. Each

60

51

critical thinking definer was then double-translated for a check of accuracy and
reliability. From late June 1998 through December 1998, 71 teachers from six

Surrey schools in B.C. were selected on a voluntary basis to participate in the

study. In March 1999, the questionnaire/card sort was administered to 88
secondary teachers at the four high schools in the Kanto region of Japan. The

nature of critical thinking was examined as teachers interpreted it. The data

obtained from the card sort/questionnaire was used to investigate the overall
sense of what secondary school teachers believed critical thinking to entail and to
compare B.C. and Japanese teachers' conceptions of critical thinking. Finally, the

questions posed weredo teachers' conceptions of critical thinking vary as a
function of subject area, gender, age and teaching experience?

61

52

CHAPTER 5

RESULTSCHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
B.C. and Japan were chosen for this comparative study for several reasons:

(1) both have reached the stages of universal secondary education and mass

higher education; (2) educators in each region have begun to analyze the nature
of critical thinking; (3) there is considerable interest in reforms to teacher
education in both regions; and (4) as they are both on the Pacific Rim and share

commonalities (varied climates and geography and economies relying on exports
through shipping), they are ideal for a comparative study. B.C. was chosen

instead of Canada since provinces have different education systems while Japan

has a highly uniform education system.
In addition to teachers' conceptions of critical thinking, the data collected
included gender, age, years of teaching experience and teaching subject, as well as

other information regarding teachers' values. Some of the data (see Appendix A
Survey questions 5-7) may be used in further studies and is not discussed at
length in this thesis. Table 3 summarizes the characteristics of the B.C. and
Japanese teachers surveyed.

Gender
As shown in Table 3, of the 159 teachers surveyed, the number of men

(n=113) was greater than the number of women (n=46). While the number of
B.C. men (n=38) and women (n=33) teachers surveyed were nearly equal, 85

percent of Japanese teachers surveyed were men. However, these demographics

are characteristic of high schoolsespecially in Japan. At the time of the study,
only 24 percent of secondary school teachers in Japan were female while in B.C.
the number was 41.4 percent (Monbusho, 1997; BCTF, 1998).

62

53

Table 3

Characteristics of Selected Teachers in B.C. and Japanese High Schools
n

n

%

%

n

46
113
159

28.9
71.1
100.0

33
71

46.0
54.0
44.7 2

22

13.8

15

21.1

7

8.0

51

32.1

22

29

49
37

30.8
23.3

18
16

30.0
25.4
22.5

21

33.0
35.2
23.9

Mean
41.40

S.D.

Mean
39.59

S.D.

9.55

10.10

Mean
42.85

8.92

Teaching experience

n

%

n

%

n

`)/0

7

8.0

6

6.8
20.5
26.1
14.8

Gender
Women

Men

Total

Age
20-29 years old
30-39 years old
40-49 years old
50+ years old

Total

Total

B.C.
38

< 5 years

27

17.0

20

5-9 years
10-14 years
15-19 years
20-24 years
25-29 years
30-34 years

19
26

11.9

13

35 or more years

4

Mean
15.93

Total

Subject Areas
Language Arts
Math
Science 3
Social Studies
Fine Art
Foreign Languages
Other 3

32
19
18
14

n
24
23
32

%
1

11.9

6

11.3
8.8

10
5

2.5

0

28.2
18.3
11.3
12.7
8.5
14.1
7.0
0.0

S.D.

Mean

S.D.

9.90

13.11

%

n
13

16.0
20.1

15.1

8
9

Japan 1
13
75

15.0
85.0

88

55.3 2

31

18
23
13
8

9.1

9

10.2
4.5

4

10.30

9.01

%

n

%

18.3
18.3
26.8

11

10

29

12.5
11.4
14.8
11.4
5.7
11.4
33.0

20.1

19

11.9

9

8

5.0
9.4

3

15

5

12.7
4.2
7.0

38

23.9

9

12.7

10
13
5

10

4.65

0.000

2.17

0.032

3.33

0.001

S.D.

Mean
18.20

13
19

14.5

t value t-prob

S.D.

1 Percent by column.

2 Denotes a percent of the total sample.
3 Denotes pairs of groups sibrnificantly different in terms of the number of teachers in Science
and Other subject areas using a Multiple Range Test at the .050 level.

54

Age

Both B.C. and Japan's teaching populations are aging. With new, younger
teachers replacing those retiring, it is not surprising that 45.9 percent of the

teachers surveyed were in their twenties and thirties while 23.3 percent were in
their fifties and sixties (see Table 3). The mean age of secondary school teachers in
this study was 42.85 years old for Japan and 39.59 years old for British Columbia.

These statistics compare well with the latest data available from the Monbusho
and B.C. Ministry of Education giving the average ages as 41.6 and 43.0 (including

administrators) respectively (British Columbia Teachers' Federation, 1998;
Monbusho, 1997). Japanese teachers are proportionally older than B.C.

teachersboth in this sample and in the teaching population as a whole.
Teaching Experience
Japanese teachers had more career experience (x=18.2 years) than B.C.

teachers ( =13.1 years). This five year difference was statistically significant
(t=3.33, p<.001). While teaching experience and age were related, some teachers

started teaching directly after university (especially in Japan), while many others
began teaching careers much later in life. Table 3 compares B.C. and Japanese

teachers' career experience, their mean ages and respective age ranges.

Irrespective of culture, over half the teachers surveyed were in their thirties, yet
this age group may have a wide range of teaching experience. If someone were to

enter teaching directly after completing school, without any break in their
studies, they would have ten years of teaching experience by the time they were
in their early thirties. However, only 24 percent of the B.C. teachers were
veterans, having 10-19 years of teaching experience compared to 41 percent of
Japanese teachers. At any given age, Japanese teachers were likely to have more

v4

55

career experience than B.C. teachers. This is because Japanese teachers tend to

begin university at age 18 and then go straight into teaching upon graduation. By

the time a teacher is in their midthirties they have at least ten years of career
experience.

Subject Areas
Teachers in Language Arts (24), Math (23), Science (32), Social Studies (19),

Fine Arts (8) and Foreign Language (15) represented approximately 75 percent of

the respondents. A number of subject areas less frequently identified were placed
into the category "Other" in Table 3. These included seven B.C. subjects: Business
Education (3); Computer Science (3); Industrial Education (5); Special Education
(3); Counseling (1); Career Education (1); Learning Assistance (1) and six Japanese
subjects: Agriculture (6); Home Economics (4); Technology Education (5);

Architecture (2); Metalwork (1); Nursing (2). The specialization of Japanese

subject areas is due to the selective nature of Japanese academic and vocational
high schools, while the diversity of B.C. subject areas is the result of B.C.'s

comprehensive high schools.
Overall, there were no major differences between the two cultures in the
numbers of teachers representing the various subject areas. However, there were
proportionally more B.C. "Science" teachers (26.8 percent) than Japanese
"Science" teachers (14.8 percent). Also, proportionally more Japanese teachers
(33.0 percent) were in the "Other" category than B.C. teachers (12.7 percent).

65

56

Summary
Japan's high school teachers were predominantly men, while in B.C. there

were only slightly more men than women teaching high school. In general,
Japanese teachers are older and more experienced than their B.C. counterparts.
The teachers in this sample reflected these characteristics of gender, age and

experience. The Japanese teachers surveyed represented a somewhat greater
diversity and specialization of subject areas compared to the B.C. teachers, as

evidenced by the greater number of people teaching "Other" subjects such as

"Agriculture," "Architecture" and "Technology Education." Also, there were

proportionally more "Science" teachers surveyed in British Columbia.

GO

57

CHAPTER 6

RESULTSCRITICAL THINKING
The purposes of this study were (1) to obtain an overall sense of what
secondary school teachers believed critical thinking to entail; (2) to compare and
contrast B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking; (3)

to investigate the nature of B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of
critical thinking with respect to gender, age, teaching experience and subject
taught; and (4) to determine whether critical thinking is a significant part of B.C.

and Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level. In order to
achieve these goals, 159 B.C. and Japanese teachers were surveyed using a

questionnaire consisting of demographic and open-ended questions as well as a
card sort procedure. Fifty definers of critical thinking, derived from the literature

review and from teachers in the pilot study were double-translated and then
printed on index cards (in English on one side and Japanese on the other).
Teachers were asked to indicate which definers were relevant to critical thinking.

Definers of Critical Thinking
Table 4 shows the extent to which teachers in B.C. and Japan endorsed
each of the definers of critical thinking, sorted in descending order. Chosen by 75

percent of the teachers, "Analysis" was the most frequently mentioned. The top
five definers: "Analysis," "Reasoning," "Drawing inferences," "Problem solving"
and "Analytical skills" were each selected by over two-thirds of the teachers.

Rounding out the top ten were five definers chosen by over 60 percent of the
teachers: "Inductive reasoning," "Creative thinking," "Clarifying ideas,"

"Logical" and "Thoughtful judgements." It was not surprising that these definers

58

Table 4

Differences in Fifty Definers of Critical Thinking between Teachers in B.C. and
Japanese High Schools
Definers of Critical Thinking

Mean SD
Total

Analysis
Reasoning
Drawing inferences

.75
.72

Problem solving

Mean SD

Mean SD

B.C.

Japan

t value

pprob.

.69
.63
.65
.53
.59

.46
.49
.48
.50
.49

-2.02
-3.16

.05
.00

-5.43
-3.61

.00
.00

.45
.49
.49
.50
.49

.56
.66
.67
.66

-2.22

.03

.61

.50
.48
.47
.48
.49

.75
.42
.56
.65
.70

.44
.50
.50
.48
.46

.52
.75
.63
.57
.50

.50
.44
.49
.50
.50

-2.95
4.42

.00
.00

-2.64

.01

.49
.50
.49
.50
.50

.77
.64
.75
.76
.66

.42
.49
.44
.43
.48

.44
.53
.45
.43

-4.46

.00

-3.86
-4.39

.00
.00

.51

.50
.50
.50
.50
.50

.55
.53
.50
.47
.45

.50
.50
.50
.50
.50

.68
.55
.68
.65
.70

.47
.50
.47
.48
.46

.45
.51
.36
.32
.25

.50
.50
.48
.47
.44

-2.85

.01

-4.09
-4.29
-6.38

.00
.00
.00

Discovery learning
Divergent thinking
Convergent thinking
Evaluation
Taking ownership

.44
.42

.39
.63
.46
.46
.30

.49
.49
.50
.50
.46

.47
.25
.36
.34
.45

.50
.44
.48
.48
.50

-5.25

.00

.40
.38

.50
.50
.49
.49
.49

2.06

.04

Self-directed
Depth
Consistency
Metacognitive skills

.48
.48
.48
.48
.48

.27
.38
.18
.52
.34

.45
.49
.39
.50
.48

.41
.33
.48
.20
.34

.49
.47
.50
.40
.48

4.05
-4.54

.00
.00

Active participation

.35
.35
.35
.34
.34

Socratic questioning
Relevance
Specificity
Significance
Clarity

.33
.32
.31
.31
.31

.47
.47
.46
.46
.47

.41

.50
.50
.41
.50
.49

.26
.22
.39
.23
.27

.44
.41
.49
.42
.45

-1.98
-3.24
2.41
-2.49

.05
.00
.02

Student-centred

.45
.45
.45
.44
.44

.31

.07

.47
.26

.17

.38

2.32

.02

.21

.41

.44
.50
.47
.47
.45

.01

.41

.25
.45
.33
.33
.28

5.86

.21

Subjective

.28
.28
.28
.26
.25

Precision
Adequacy
Cooperative learning
Disciplined
Completeness

.24
.18
.16
.13
.13

.43
.39
.37
.33
.34

.18
.01
.21
.18
.04

.39
.12

.45
.47
.33
.27

5.33

.00

.39
.20

.28
.32
.13
.08
.20

.41

3.07

.00

Total Words Endorsed

22.72

1.02

24.69

8.74

21.14

1.73

-2.25

.03

Analytical skills

.83
.85
.79
.90
.85

.38
.36

.70
.70

.43
.45
.45
.46
.46

Inductive reasoning
Creative thinking
Clarifying ideas
Logical
Thoughtful judgements

.64
.64
.64
.62
.62

.48
.48
.48
.49
.49

.73
.62
.61
.59
.62

Evaluating assumptions

Hypothesize

.62
.60
.60
.60
.59

.49
.49
.49
.60
.49

Higher order thinking
Rational thinking
Drawing conclusions
Deductive reasoning
Constructive skepticism

.59
.58
.58
.58
.58

Investigate
Open-minded
Synthesis
Identifying/removing bias
Decision making

Objective
Intellectual challenges
Independent thinking

Fairness
Accuracy
Responsible

.71

.41

.45
.21
.41

.37

.41

.30
.36

.41

Note: Data is derived from critical thinking definers chosen from a deck of 50 critical thinking cards. (n=158)

68.

.01

59

were chosen more frequently since they describe the the sorts of higher order
cognitive skills and processes teachers associate with thinking critically.

"Analysis" was chosen most often because perhaps it best encompasses the

nature of critical thinking in the classroom. Analysis means to examine
something carefully, to break it into its constituent elements and to make
thoughtful judgements in order to come to some conclusion (Bloom, Englehart,
Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956). Analysis is used in nearly all subject areas. Math

teachers encourage their students to analyze a geometry problem for possible

paths to a solution. Science teachers have students analyze data in search for a
pattern or relationship. Language teachers ask students to analyze a piece of

literature and to summarize what they've read in a précis. Even fine arts teachers
use a form of analysis when they ask students to critique a major piece of artwork

or performance. Another reason that "Analysis" may have been so popular is

that it is mentioned as an important component of critical thinking in most
books on teaching pedagogy. In addition, teachers are well versed in Bloom's

taxonomy which includes analysis as a higher order cognitive skill.

"Reasoning" is another word frequently mentioned in the literature on
critical thinking. Teachers chose this word because it is familiar and encompasses

much of the same aspects of critical thinking that analysis does. "Inductive

reasoning" was more popular than "Deductive reasoning." Other words in the
top ten also reflected this trend toward constructivism. "Drawing inferences" and
"Creative thinking" both support a more inductive, self-discovery approach to
learning. Thus, it would appear most teachers in this study embraced the
modern concept of the "teacher as facilitator" as opposed to the "teacher as

transmitter of knowledge."
Many of the definers most frequently selected by teachers were linked.

139

60

"Thoughtful judgements" could be deemed a part of "Analysis" and "Logical" is
a part of "Reasoning." "Problem solving" encompasses a wide range of critical
thinking skills including "Clarifying ideas." All these concepts may be a part of

critical thinking in some context of learning.
Fourteen definers were chosen by fewer than one-third of the teachers
surveyed: "Completeness," "Disciplined," "Cooperative learning," "Adequacy,"
"Precision," "Subjective," "Responsible," "Accuracy," "Fairness," "Studentcentred," "Clarity," "Significance," "Specificity" and "Relevance." Although most

of these concepts appear in the critical thinking literature, they were not popular
choices among the teachers surveyed. Perhaps they do not describe what
classroom teachers believe are the essential components of thinking critically.

While they all describe positive student attributes or favourable circumstances

under which learning can occur, their meaning is largely embedded in
behavioural objectives rather than cognitive processes or learning outcomes.
"Cooperative learning," was found to be of little relevance to critical

thinkingalthough a popular teaching style in both B.C. and Japan it was only
endorsed by sixteen percent of teachers. This served as a reliability check. It

suggests that teachers did not simply choose popular "buzzwords" or vocabulary

that were most familiar to them. "Cooperative learning" was included as a
distracter and is not typically referred to in critical thinking literature.

Some words commonly referred to in the literature are not part of most
teachers' vocabulary. This is especially true of the older more experienced
teachers and in particular of Japan's teachers. For example, "Metacognitive skills"
and "Socratic questioning" were only selected by approximately one-third of the

teachers, however these strategies are often used in both the humanities and
sciences without teachers being aware of the formal words used to describe them.

70

61

In the open-ended section of the questionnaire, several teachers commented on
the use of questioning and concept-mapping as tools to foster critical thinking,
yet they did not select "Socratic questioning" or "Metacognitive skills" which
describe each of these teaching strategies respectfully.

Differences Between B.C. and Japanese Teachers

While many similarities existed between the critical thinking definers
selected by Japanese and B.C. teachers, there were statistically significant

differences for 27 of the 50 definers (see Table 5 under Culture). Fourteen definers

were significantly different at the p<.001 level: "Problem solving," "Analytical

skills," "Objective," "Higher order thinking," "Drawing conclusions,"

"Deductive reasoning," "Synthesis," "Identifying/removing bias," "Decision
making," "Divergent thinking," "Consistency," "Metacognitive skills,"
"Fairness" and "Adequacy." A number of these definers showed a marked
contrast: "Decision making" was chosen by 70 percent of the B.C. teachers but

only 25 percent of the Japanese teachers; "Divergent thinking" was chosen by 63

percent and 25 percent respectively. Moreover, B.C. teachers were more likely to

have chosen "Problem solving," "Analytical skills," "Higher order thinking,"
"Drawing conclusions," "Deductive reasoning," "Synthesis," "Identifying/

removing bias," and "Metacognitive skills." Japanese teachers on the other hand,
were more likely to have selected "Objective," "Consistency," "Fairness" and
"Adequacy." While "Fairness" was selected by 45 percent of the Japanese teachers,

only seven percent of the B.C. teachers endorsed it. These definers describe

behaviour and moralityconcepts that are emphasized in Japan's schools. Thus,
while B.C. teachers may have related critical thinking more to the cognitive
domain, Japanese teachers tended to favour the affective domain.

71

62

Table 5

Correlations Between Fifty Definers of Critical Thinking and Seven Characteristics of
Teacher Demographics
Culture
Correlations:
Definers of Critical Thinking

Gender

Accuracy
Active participation
Adequacy
Analysis
Analytical skills

-.13
.00

.08
-.22*

-.39**
.16
.28**

-.11
-.05

Clarifying ideas
Clarity

-.07
.10

.01

Age

Teaching
Experience

CT in

CT

Curriculum

Taught

CT
Total
.35**
.37**
.39**
.45**
.46**

.12
-.14
.00
-.10
-.08

.12
-.16
-.02
-.15
-.15

-.06

.11

.02
.05
-.71
.07
.13

.00
.01
.05
.04

-.05
-.07
.05
.07
-.22*

.08
.05
-.09
-.11
.05

.13
.10
-.02
-.15
.13

.51**
.47**
.33**
.30**
.44**

-.02
-.01
.05
.14
.06

.09
.06
-.05
.16
.26*

.45**
.42**
.41**
.44**
.44**

.51**
.27**
.44**
.38**
.54**

.03

-.13
-.02

Completeness
Consistency
Constructive skepticism

-.24*
-.31**
.15

-.01
-.02
.04
.06
-.04

Convergent thinking
Cooperative learning
Creative thinking
Decision making
Deductive reasoning

.10
.12
-.04
.45**
.33**

-.01
-.06
-.10
-.20
-.01

.05
-.16
.05
-.20
-.05

.04
-.16

Depth
Disciplined
Discovery learning
Divergent thinking
Drawing conclusions

.05
.16
-.08
.39
.29

-.11
-.09
-.02

-.13
-.09
-.10
-.13
-.05

-.08
.10

-.07
-.14

-.09
-.07
-.09
-.09
.00

.15

.04
.09
-.02
.18
.07

Drawing inferences
Evaluating assumptions
Evaluation
Fairness
Higher order thinking

.15
.23
.13*
-.42**
.34**

-.16
-.12
-.19
.09
-.22*

.06
-.18
-.16
-.07
-.23*

.03
-.23*
-.19
-.04
-.30**

.03
.10
.00
-.08
.10

.00
.19
.00
-.21*
.17

.52**
.47**
.38**
.26**
.43**

Hypothesize
Identifying/removing bias
Independent thinking
Inductive reasoning
Intellectual challenges

.21*
.33**
.08
.18

-.05
-.21*
-.15
.07
-.01

-.08
-.16
-.04
.02
-.04

-.15
-.22*
-.04

.17

.01

.05
.09
.14
.06

-.05

-.02

-.07

.63**
.53**
.42**
.48**
.42**

-.21*
.02
-.18

-.22*
-.01
-.27**
.09

.11

-.07

-.16
.18
-.13
.00

.15
-.06

-.10

-.15
.03
-.20
.07
-.03

Investigate
Logical
Metacognitive skills
Objective
Open-minded

-.07
.22*

-.07
.34**
-.33**
.04

.11

-.17

.01
-.26**
-.12

.08
.11

.11
.10
.12

-.20
.00

.50**
.39**
.43**
.26*
.39**

.27**

Precision
Problem solving
Rational thinking
Reasoning
Relevance

-.12
.40**
.10
.24*
.25*

.13
-.09
-.10
-.12
-.16

.14
-.16
-.03
-.06
-.11

.08
-.22*
-.09
-.08
-.15

-.09
.16
-.02
.04
.16

.00
.15
.07
.24*
.15

.46**
.42**
.52**
.49**
.47**

Responsible
Self-directed
Significance
Socratic questioning
Specificity

-.18
-.15
.20
.16
-.19

.06
.06
-.08
.06
.07

.03
-.12
-.14
.00
-.13

.01
-.13
-.20
-.05
-.14

.03
.02
.07
.04
-.08

-.04
-.01
.22*
.15
-.08

.34**
.30**
.47**
.50**
.49**

Student-centred
Subjective
Synthesis
Taking ownership
Thoughtful judgements

.07
-.08

-.04

-.19

.05
.00

-.1

-.22*
-.06
-.04
-.14
-.06

.13
-.02
.10
.03
.10

-.02
-.02

.37**
.37**
.50**
.31**
.46**

.31**

-.16
.01

.00
-.13
-.02

-.07
-.08

.34**
.01
.06

*p<.01 **<.001

7'

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

63

These sorts of contrasts between Eastern and Western thinking are well
documented (Cummings & Altbach, 1997; Lewis, 1995; Gardner, 1989; Reid, 1999;
Rohlen & LeTendre, 1996; Shields, 1993; Shimahara & Sakai, 1995; Stern, 1995;

Stevenson & Lee, 1995; Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). The data in this study

reflected this to some degree (see Chapter 7 for a full discussion).

Six definers significantly differentiated the two cultures at the p<.01 level.
B.C. teachers were more likely to chose "Reasoning," "Evaluating assumptions,"

"Hypothesize," "Investigate," and "Relevance" while Japanese teachers were
more likely to have selected "Completeness." It would appear that B.C. teachers'
conceptions of critical thinking correlated with cognitive processes while
Japanese teachers conceptions of critical thinking correlated with more concrete

learning outcomes associated with behavioural objectives.
In addition, seven other definers showed significant differences based on a
t-test: "Analysis," "Inductive reasoning," "Taking ownership," "Socratic
questioning," "Specificity," "Significance" and "Responsible." B.C. teachers were

more likely to have chosen "Analysis," "Inductive reasoning," and "Socratic
questioning." Japanese teachers were more likely to have selected "Taking

ownership," "Specificity" and "Responsible." These results further illustrate

differences in the nature of Eastern and Western thought within the context of
Japanese and B.C. high school teachers' conceptions of critical thinking.

Differences Based on the Total Number of Definers Chosen
As shown in Table 4, the difference in the number of definers chosen by
B.C. and Japanese teachers is small but statistically significant, as the mean
number of definers chosen was approximately 25 for the B.C. teachers and 21 for
the Japanese teachers (t=-2.25, p<.03). More than a few teachers chose only ten

73

64

words while one chose all 50. It is quite likely that these individuals either

misunderstood the instructions (confusing the ranking of the top ten words with
the sorting procedure such that only 10 cards were chosen) or deliberately chose

an easier way to complete the task. Some teachers took only 10 minutes to

complete the survey while others laboured for as long as half-an-hour.
Therefore, the quality of answers from teachers' responses to the open-ended

questions was taken into account in addition to the quantitative results from the
card-sort procedure.

Differences Based on Gender

As shown in Table 5, only four definers of critical thinking were

significantly related to gender. "Higher order thinking," "Investigate,"

"Identifying/removing bias" and "Active participation" were significantly
different (p<.01) from the other definers. Women were more likely to choose
each of these.

Differences Based on Age

"Higher order thinking" was the only definer significantly related (p<.01)
to age (see Table 5). Younger teachers tended to choose this word more frequently

than their older colleagues. This is likely due to the recent introduction of
"Higher order thinking" to teacher education. This term was not used
commonly until the 1980s.

Differences Based on Career Experience

As shown in Table 5, nine definers were significantly related to career
experience. Three were significantly different at the p<.001 level: "Decision

65

making," "Higher order thinking" and "Metacognitive skills." Six definers were
significantly different at the p<.01 level: "Constructive skepticism," "Evaluating

assumptions," "Identifying/removing bias," "Investigate," "Problem solving"
and "Student-centred." All of these definers were more likely to be chosen by
teachers with less career experience. This is probably due to less experienced

teachers being recent graduates of teacher education programs where teaching
strategies employing these concepts are emphasized.

Relationships Based on Critical Thinking in the Curriculum
In addition to providing socio-demographic information, teachers were

asked to complete several questions in the questionnaire requiring them to
reflect on whether critical thinking was part of their school's curriculum or part
of their classroom's agenda (see Appendix A, Questions 9-11). There was no

significant relationship between the definers chosen by teachers and their

response to the question, "Is critical thinking part of the curriculum in your
subject area?"

Relationships Based on Critical Thinking in Teaching
As shown in Table 5, six definers were significantly related to teachers'

response to the question, "Do you teach critical thinking?" Teachers who chose
"Deductive Reasoning," "Metacognitive Skills," "Reasoning," "Significance" and

"Synthesis" were more likely to answer "yes" to the question, while teachers

who chose "Fairness" tended to answer "no." While "Metacognitive skills"and
"Synthesis" were statistically most significant (p<.001), "Deductive reasoning,"

"Fairness," "Reasoning" and "Significance" were significantly different at the
p<.01 level.

p5

66

Distinguishing B.C. from Japanese Teachers
Table 6 shows the 27 statistically significant (p<.001) definers of critical

thinking that distinguish between B.C. and Japanese teachers, listed in order of

their discriminating power. The first definer to enter the equation was "Decision
making" followed by "Fairness."
Table 6

Critical Thinking Definers that Significantly Distinguished Between B.C. and
Japanese Teachers
Wilks' Lambda

Critical Thinking Definer
Decision making
Fairness

.79

Higher order thinking

.54
.48
.44
.42
.39
.38
.36
.34
.33
.32
.30
.28
.28
.27
.26
.25
.24
.24
.24
.24
.23
.23
.23
.22
.22

.61

Adequacy

Synthesis
Reasoning

Clarifying ideas
Identifying/removing bias
Objective
Intellectual challenges

Analytical skills
Completeness

Disciplined
Consistency
Accuracy

Active participation
Discovery learning
Problem solving
Convergent thinking
Student-centred

Specificity
Cooperative learning
Socratic questioning
Metacognitive skills
Deductive reasoning
Analysis
Evaluation

6

67

These 27 definers of critical thinking correctly classified 96.9 percent of the

teachers surveyed as B.C. or Japanese. Table 7 shows the extent to which the

single canonical discriminant function successfully determined which
respondents were from B.C. and which were from Japan. The distribution of
respondents is shown in Figure 6. There is a clear pattern differentiated. While
B.C. teachers tended to choose "Decision making," "Problem solving,"

"Divergent thinking," "Metacognitive skills," "Higher order thinking,"
"Deductive reasoning," and "Identifying/removing bias," Japanese teachers
tended to chose "Fairness," "Adequacy," "Objective," "Consistency,"

"Completeness," Precision," and "Specificity." The canonical discriminant

function is a variable like an unrotated factor. Figure 6 shows the distribution of
B.C. and Japanese teachers along this uni-dimensional variable, called the index

of cultural differentiation about critical thinking. The numbers along the x-axis
are essentially z-scores along this dimension of critical thinking in which the
centre of all the teachers is zero and each unit is one standard deviation away
from zero. On average B.C. teachers had an index of cultural differentiation
Cb = 2.07 while Japanese teachers had q = -1.67. Thus, B.C. and Japanese teachers

were 3.74 standard deviations apart on this dimension of critical thinking.
Table 7

Accuracy of Discriminant Function Distinguishing B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Predicted Group Membership
B.C.

Actual Group Membership
Total
Japan

B.C.

Count
% of Teachers from:

70.0
98.6

1.0
1.4

71.0
100.0

Japan

Count
% of Teachers from:

4.0
4.5

84.0
95.5

88.0
100.0

Count

71.0
100.0

88.0
100.0

159.0
100.0

Total

`)/0 of Teachers from:

68

j=Japanese teachers
b=B.C. teachers

Legend:

12

Class centroids:

Cj = -1.67
Cb = 2.07

8

11j
Frequency
j
j

4

1

1

j j

jjjjj

b

11111

bb

111111

b b bb bbbbbb b
jbb bb bbbbbb b

1111111

11111111111

j

b

bb bb bbbb b

j1111111111111 bjbb bbbbbbbbbbbbb b

jujjjjmujjjjjbbjbjbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

0

-4.0
Fairness
Adequacy
Objective
Consistency
Completeness
Precision
Specificity

- 2.0 Cj

0

2.0 Cb

b

4.0

Decision making
Problem solving
Divergent thinking
Metacognitive skills

Higher order thinking
Deductive reasoning
Identifying/removing bias

Figure 6. Distribution of Respondents on the Single Canonical
Discriminant Function of Significant Critical Thinking Definers

.

Ranking Selected Definers of Critical Thinking

In addition to selecting or not selecting definers, teachers were asked to
choose the ten that were most significant to critical thinking. A broader scope to

their views can be obtained by investigating the ranking of the top ten definers
(see Figure 7). While "Fairness" was ranked in the top ten by 22.7 percent of
Japanese teachers, it was ranked by only 1.4 percent of B.C. teachers. Other

definers were chosen much more frequently by Japan's teachers. For example,
"Objective" was chosen by 75 percent and ranked in the top ten by 59.1 percent of
Japanese teachers whereas only 42 percent of the B.C. teachers chose it and 9.9

69
(japan I B.C. '1 Percentage of Definers Ranked in the Top Ten

,jrvm,B.cdit Percentage of Definers Endorsed
Analysis

40,t ,4

,,

,,g

,,,

1.

(75/40)
4.A.,:e (72/37)

4

Drawing inferences(71/38)
..

W

Reasoning

Analytical skills Am.

,''

11N

Problem solving
Clarifying ideas

1(64/40)

(64/22)
62/24)
(62/30)
(62/30)
(60/30)

Logical

Evaluating assumptions

Thoughtful judgements
Independent thinking
Intellectual challenges
Objective

1(60/29)
Inasi (60/37)

Higher order thinking
Hypothesize

A, 44.

.

Constructive skepticism

(59/30)
(59/23)
(58/30)

Deductive reasoning

A' ' "`*-s (58/27)

Drawing conclusions

(58/21)
(58/26)
(55/21)
(53/29)
(50/24)

Rational thinking 4

Investigate'a
Open-minded

Synthesis
44 '4-

z

4

(47/15)
(45/16)

Decision making

Discovery learning
Divergent thinking 4 4'
Convergent thinking

1(44/22)

"' (42/16)
1

" (41/9)

Evaluation

(40/14)
(38/14)
1(35/13)
(35/9)
(35/10)
(34/14)
"
(34/14)
(33/8)
(32/8)
(31/6)
(31/6)

Taking ownership
Consistency
Depth

Self-directedActive participation
Metacognitive skills
Socratic questioning' ,
Relevance

Clarity'
Significance

Specificity;

7M_._.L11(31/7)

Accuracy .._,....._0(28/5)
Fairness's

1(28/13)
(28/11)
(26/8)

Student-centred

Subjective(25/8)

Responsible

Precision
Adequacy
Cooperative learning

(70/48)
(70/44)

(64/30)

Creative thinking
Inductive reasoning

Identifying/removing bias-

<

11(24/5)

i 1(18/4)
(1 6/4 )

Completeness

1(13/3)

Disciplined

(13/4)

Figure 7. Percentage of Critical Thinking Definers Endorsed,
then Subsequently Ranked in the Top Ten

79

70

percent ranked it in the top ten. Japanese teachers (36 percent) placed more

importance on "Independent thinking" than did B.C. teachers (21 percent).
Moreover, 11 percent of the Japanese teachers ranked it as their number one
selection, in contrast to the B.C. teachers where only three percent gave it the top

rank. This is counter to the stereotypical' notions of Japanese valuing the group

over the individual and Western views of creating independence at the expense
of all else.

Other interesting comparisons can be found with "Creative thinking,"

"Problem solving," "Reasoning," and "Thoughtful judgements." While nearly
the same percentage of teachers from B.C. and Japan chose "Thoughtful
judgements," 30 of the 88 Japanese teachers (34 percent) ranked it and 4 chose it

as the number one most significant definer. In contrast, only 18 of the 71 B.C.
teachers (25 percent) ranked it and it was not chosen as number one. This serves

to illustrate an important characteristic of the dataJapan's teachers were more
selective in their choices. B.C.'s teachers tended to chose more definers (see Table

4, 'Total Words Endorsed'). Thus, the ranking is helpful in determining which
definers are most significant to teachers' conceptions of critical thinking.

The Structure of Critical Thinking
While performing the analysis, there appeared to be considerable overlap
in responses as evidenced by the large number of definers chosen by many
teachers (see Table 4). Hence, a teacher claiming that "Analysis" is part of critical

thinking was also likely to endorse "Analytical skills" and twenty or more other
definers on average. Therefore, it was decided to reduce the data into more
manageable, and possibly more meaningful categories. Factor analysis, using
SPSS was determined to be the most efficient means to achieve this.

71

Elements of Critical Thinking and the Factoring Procedure
The correlation matrix of 50 critical thinking definers for the 158

respondents for whom data was available, yielded 15 factors with eigenvalues
greater than one, accounting for 65.6 percent of the common factor variance (see
Appendix D). This matrix was subjected to a principal component analysis with

equamax and varimax rotations with four, five and six of the largest factors. A

five factor solution with equamax rotation yielded the most interpretable factor
structure and accounted for 40.9 percent of the common factor variance (see
Table 8).

Factors of Critical Thinking
The five factors were labeled: (1) Scientific Reasoning, (2) Cognitive

Strategizing, (3) Conscientious Judgements, (4) Relevance and (5) Intellectual
Engagement. For clarity, Table 8 shows only loadings .40 and greater.

Factor 1: Scientific Reasoning

Factor 1, Scientific Reasoning, accounted for 10.2 percent of the common

factor variance. It consisted of the following eight definers of critical thinking:
Drawing inferences (.68), Hypothesize (.65), Convergent thinking (.59), Inductive
reasoning (.59), Creative thinking (.50), Problem solving (.46), Drawing

conclusions (.46) and Deductive reasoning (.41). These definers incorporate a

scientific quality exemplifying a 'sleuth-like' search for deeper understanding.

81

72

Table 8

Critical Thinking Factor Loadings
Factor 1

Factor 2

Factor 3

Cognitive Conscientious
Judgements
Strategizing
Critical Thinking Definers Reasoning
Drawing inferences
.68
Scientific

Hypothesize
Convergent thinking
Inductive reasoning

Creative thinking
Problem solving
Drawing conclusions

Metacognitive skills
Constructive skepticism
Socratic questioning
Identifying/removing bias
Rational thinking
Higher order thinking
Evaluating assumptions
Open-minded
Deductive reasoning

.65
.59
.59
.50
.46
.46

.41

Factor 4
Relevance

Engagement

.47

.44
.70
.64
.61
.59
.55
.54
.46
.40
.44

Accuracy
Consistency
Objective
Adequacy

.68
.61
.60
.58
.54
.54
.51
.49
.45

Specificity
Precision
Fairness
Logical
Responsible

Clarity

.61
.53
.52
.51
.50
.41

Relevance
Decision making
Significance
Completeness
Synthesis

Active participation
Taking ownership
Discovery learning
Student-centred
Intellectual challenges
Self-directed
Subjective
Independent thinking
Cooperative learning
percent of variance explained: 10.2 %
percent cumulative variance: 10.2 %

all percents after rotation

Factor 5

Intellectual

8.6 To

18.8 %

8.3 %
27.1 %

.42

.62
.56
.56
.54
.54
.45
.44
.43
.43

7.4 %
34.5 %

41.0 To

6.5 %

73

Factor 2: Cognitive Strategizing,

Factor 2, Cognitive Strategizing, accounted for 8.6 percent of the common

factor variance. It consisted of the following nine definers of critical thinking:
Metacognitive skills (.70), Constructive skepticism (.64), Socratic questioning

(.61), Identifying/removing bias (.59), Rational thinking (.55), Higher order
thinking (.54), Evaluating assumptions (.46), Deductive reasoning (.44) and Open-

minded (.40). These definers represent higher order cognitive strategies that
encourage probing questions and critical responses.

Factor 3: Conscientious Judgements
Factor 3, Conscientious Judgements, accounted for 8.3 percent of the

common factor variance. It consisted of the following nine definers of critical
thinking: Accuracy (.68), Consistency (.61), Objective (.60), Adequacy (.58),
Specificity (.54), Precision (.54), Fairness (.51), Logical (.49) and Responsible (.45).

These definers embody ethical, moral and conscientious judgements made in a
disciplined and systematic manner.

Factor 4: Relevance

Factor 4, Relevance, accounted for 7.4 percent of the common factor

variance. It consisted of the following eight definers of critical thinking: Clarity
(.61), Relevance (.53), Decision making (.52), Significance (.51), Completeness

(.51), Drawing conclusions (.44), Cooperative learning (.42) and Synthesis (.41).

These definers reflect the clear, concise and unambiguous nature of critical

thinking. Also, there is a link between the cognitive and affective domains in the
definers of Factor 4. For example, Drawing conclusions and Synthesis may have

concrete learning outcomes manifested in Completeness and Clarity.

74

Factor 5: Intellectual Engagement
Factor 5, Intellectual Engagement, accounted for 6.5 percent of the

common factor variance. It consisted of the following ten definers of critical
thinking: Active participation (.62), Discovery learning (.56), Student-centred
(.54), Intellectual challenges (.54), Creative thinking (.48), Self-directed (.45),

Subjective(.44), Independent thinking (.43), Taking ownership (.56) and

Cooperative learning (.43). These definers share a constructivist approach to

critical thinkingintellectual engagement occurs when an individual is actively
involved in the learning process and intrinsically motivated.

Scale Scoring

Recall that respondents were asked to either endorse or reject cards
purporting to describe attributes of critical thinking. Thus, if a definer was chosen
it was coded "1"; a rejected definer was coded "0". Initially, mean scale scores

Were derived by summing over responses to the definers comprising each factor

and dividing by the number of definers within each equamax factor. However,

the results also showed that the total number of critical thinking definers chosen
by each teacher was significant (p<.001) across all five factors. In order to correct

for this artifact, normalized scale scores were derived by taking the scale scores

divided by the total number of definers chosen. Thus, normalized scale scores
ranged from zero to one. Larger scores indicated a greater correlation to critical

thinking. While means and standard deviations were readily available for all the
data, a correlation matrix provided the most concise way to summarize the
results. Table 9 shows the relationships between normalized scale scores
associated with the five critical thinking factors and selected socio-demographic
characteristics of B.C. and Japanese teachers.

84

75

Table 9

Relationships Between Critical Thinking Scale Scores and Socio-demographic
Characteristics of B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Cognitive Conscientious Relevance Intellectual
Engagement
Strategizing Judgements

Correlation (r=Pearson)

Scientific
Reasoning

Culture (Japan=0, B.C.=1)

.15

.28**

-.51**

.37**

-.26*

Gender (Woman=0, Man=1)

-.03

-.12

.18

-.05

.05

Age

.12

-.19

.15

-.03

-.03

Teaching experience

.13

-.21*

.18

-.10

.01

Critical Thinking in curriculum

.04

-.05

-.08

-.02

.05

Critical Thinking in classroom

-.05

.02

-.14

-.07

.14

Number of Critical Thinking
definers chosen

-.01

.02

-.06

.28**

-.02

.26

.34*

.18

.20

.19

Subject Area

(r=Eta)

Mean

SD

Language Arts

.25

.10

Math

.18

.07

Science

.21

.08

Social Studies
Fine Art

.24

.11

.21

.15

Foreign Languages

.20

.11

Other

.16

.09

Note: Minimum pairwise N of cases = 158 2-tailed significance: * p< .01
Normalized Scale Scores used for all five factors.

*

p< .001

Relationships Between Critical Thinking Scale Scores and Socio-demographic
Characteristics of B.C. and Japanese Teachers
Of the 159 teachers surveyed, 158 provided data for the factor analysis and

the normalized scale scores reported in Table 9. One Japanese teacher refused to

complete the card sort procedure as he felt it was ambiguous, yet his comments

and questionnaire provided valuable qualitative insights so he was included in
the rest of the analysis. Pearson coefficients were used to show correlations

76

between Culture, Gender, Age, Teaching experience, Critical Thinking in the

curriculum, Critical Thinking taught in the classroom, Number of Critical
Thinking definers chosen and the normalized scale scores from the five factors.
Larger absolute values in Table 9 indicate stronger correlations. Since teachers
from Japan and B.C. were coded with "0" and "1" respectively, positive
coefficients in the first row of Table 9 reflect factors that were endorsed more by

B.C. teachers while negative coefficients reflect factors that were endorsed more

by Japanese teachers. Likewise, since women and men were coded with "0" and
"1" respectively, positive coefficients in the second row of Table 9 reflect factors

endorsed more by men while negative coefficients reflect factors endorsed more
by women. The characteristics of Teaching experience and Age were entered

directly into SPSS as whole number integers, therefore negative coefficients in
the Teaching experience and Age rows of Table 9 indicate negative correlations
(less experience or younger). The questions "Is Critical Thinking part of the

curriculum in your subject area?" and "Do you teach Critical Thinking in your
classroom?" were coded "0," "1," and "2" for the responses "No," "Maybe," and
"Yes," respectively. Finally, since the characteristic of Subject area does not enable

a Pearson correlation, an Eta coefficient was used instead. As correlations were

most succinct in reporting the results, means and standard deviations were only
included in the one case showing a significant difference between subject areas.

Culture
There was a clear distinction and significant difference between B.C. and
Japanese teachers on four factors. While Cognitive Strategizing (r = .28, p<.001)
and Relevance (r = .37, p<.001) were of greater significance to the B.C. teachers,
Conscientious Judgements ( r = -.51, p<.001) was far more so for the Japanese

6

77

teachers. In addition, but to a lesser extent Intellectual Engagement (r = -.26,
p<.01) was also found to be more significant to the Japanese teachers.

GenderlAgelTeaching Experience
There were no significant differences in the teachers' conceptions of
critical thinking based on their gender or age (see Table 9). However, teachers
with less experience supported Cognitive Strategizing (r = -.21, p<.01)

significantly more than experienced teachers. Older more experienced teachers

may have different views than their younger colleagues, reflecting significant
changes in teacher education over the past three decades. "Critical thinking" is a

relatively new concept, however the underlying ideas of critical thinking are not.
Thus, while less experienced teachers were more likely to endorse Cognitive

Strategizing and were more familiar with the newer terminology (for example:
Metacognitive skills), taking all five factors into account there appears to be more
solidarity among teachers as a collective group than age or experience can dictate.

Critical Thinking in the Curriculum and the Teaching of Critical Thinking
The response to questions "Is critical thinking part of the curriculum in
your subject area?" and "Is critical thinking taught in your classroom?" provide
data to determine whether critical thinking is a significant part of B.C. and
Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level (see Tables 10-11).
While 62 percent of the B.C. teachers indicated critical thinking was part of the

curriculum and over 70 percent claimed to teach it in their classroom, 24 percent

of the respondents were unsure. There was even more indecision on the part of
Japan's teachers. While 41 percent of the Japanese teachers indicated that critical

thinking was part of the curriculum only 34 percent claimed to teach it and 38

78

percent were unsure. There was no strong correlation between teachers who
indicated that critical thinking was a part of the curriculum for their subject area
and any of the normalized scale scores for the five factors (see Table 9).

Moreover, there was no strong correlation between teaching critical thinking in
the classroom and any of the normalized scale scores for the five factors.
Table 10

Critical Thinking as Part of the Prescribed Curriculum

m
Critical Thinking
part of the curriculum

B.C.

Japan

Total

10.0

28.4

25.0
14.1

35.0
22.0

17.0
23.9

27.0
30.7

44.0
27.7

Count
% of Teachers from:

44.0

62.0

36.0
40.9

80.0
50.3

Count
of Teachers from:

71.0
100.0

88.0
100.0

159.0
100.0

B.C.

Japan

Total

4.0

5.7

25.0
28.5

29.0
18.3

% of Teachers from:

17.0
24.0

33.0
37.6

50.0
31.5

Count
of Teachers from:

50.0
70.5

30.0
34.2

80.0
50.4

Count
of Teachers from:

71.0
100.0

88.0
100.0

159.0
100.0

Count
% of Teachers from:

unsure Count
% of Teachers from:

yes

Total

Table 11

Critical Thinking Taught in the Classroom

no
Critical Thinking
taught in the classroom

Count
% of Teachers from:

unsure Count
yes

Total

79

Total Number of Critical Thinking Definers Chosen
Even after taking into account the total number of definers selected by

each teacher using the normalized scale scores, there still remained one factor
that correlated significantly with the number of definers chosen. Teachers who
chose a greater number of definers tended to score higher on Relevance (r = .28,
p<0.001). One possibility is that this is merely an anomaly. Another possible

explanation is those teachers that valued Relevance happened to spend more
time on the card sort procedure and thus were more likely to chose a greater

number of definers.

Subject Areas

In comparing the data across subject areas taught, interesting similarities
and contrasts were found (see Table 9). Cognitive Strategizing was the only scale
score to show any significant differences (r = .34, p<.01) between teachers of

various subjects. Language Arts teachers scored highest, followed closely by

Social Studies teachers while Other teachers scored lowest. Perhaps this is due to

the diverse nature of the Other group and their predominantly vocational
nature. Moreover, terms such as Socratic questioning while common to

humanities teachers were likely unfamiliar to many of the Other teachers.

Summary
B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking were
compared and contrasted. There were significant differences between B.C. and

Japanese teachers for 27 of the 50 critical thinking definers. The discriminant
analysis successfully classified 96.9 percent of teachers as either B.C. or Japanese.

B.C. teachers tended to view critical thinking through definers such as "Decision

6S

80

making," "Problem solving," "Divergent thinking," "Metacognitive skills,"

"Higher order thinking," "Deductive reasoning," and "Identifying/removing
bias" while they favoured the factors of Cognitive Strategizing and Relevance.

On the other hand, Japanese teachers characterized critical thinking through
definers such as "Fairness," "Adequacy," "Objective," "Consistency,"

"Completeness," "Precision," and "Specificity" while they favoured

Conscientious Judgements and Intellectual Engagement. There were no
significant differences in the teachers' conceptions of critical thinking based on
their gender or age. Yet, language arts teachers, social studies teachers, and

teachers with less experience, tended to support Cognitive Strategizing more
than their other colleagues. Critical thinking would appear to be a significant part
of B.C. and Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level.

However, critical thinking in its present context is much more pervasive in the
classrooms of the B.C. teachers studied... or perhaps it is just better understood.

While the results of the data analysis have answered the original purposes
of the study, some questions remain.What are teachers' conceptions of critical

thinking in their own words? How can critical thinking best be taught? Are there
further qualitative differences between B.C. and Japan that need to be

investigated? What are the implications of this study?

90

81

CHAPTER 7

DISCUSSION
The results of this study are relevant to B.C. and Japan since both

education systems were undergoing significant reforms to teacher education

with a focus on critical thinking. While over half the teachers surveyed indicated
that they taught critical thinking, many had difficulty expressing exactly how to
teach it effectively. Teachers admitted that they had to think critically just to
complete the survey! The most difficult part of the card sort procedure was

ranking the top 10 words. This task required teachers to reflect on the meaning of
critical thinking, teaching philosophy and practice. In addition, open-ended

questions "What is critical thinking?" and "How is critical thinking taught?"
posed a real challenge, because although teachers value critical thinking, they

have not had to think about it nor have they discussed it with their colleagues.
Instead, critical thinking is a tacit concept and an implicit part of their teaching

philosophy rarely articulated. As a result, some teachers were unable to complete

all the questions or gave up because it required too much time and thought.
However, several teachers said they benefited from taking part in the survey
since it required them to think critically and to reflect on their teaching practice.

Teachers' Conceptions of Critical Thinking

Whereas the preceding chapter focused on quantitative data analysis, the

qualitative aspects were merely woven into the analysis. Here more attention is
given to teachers responses to the open-ended questions. Thus, what follows are
salient examples of teacher's definitions of critical thinking:

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Critical thinking is the ability to deductively reason, break down a

problem into workable components and formulate an answer.
(B.C., Queen Elizabeth, science teacher)

Critical thinking is problem solving; an in depth thinking that
goes beyond a face value response; investigating for specifics to
support one's thoughts and opinions/judgements. (B.C., North
Surrey, language arts teacher)

Critical thinking is making links to "what you know already" to
"new ideas" presented. (B.C., Elgin Park, science teacher)

Critical thinking is to get students to consider things from various

angles and to let them go through their own thinking process.
(Japan, Komaba, social studies teacher)

Critical thinking is to think deeply about something, then to

analyze it and finally to make judgements or come to a
conclusion. (Japan, Tsukuba, English teacher)

While these teachers were able to adequately describe what their

conception of critical thinking was, others were unsure of the meaning. Some
Japanese teachers confused "hihanteki shikou (critical thinking)" with
"dokuritsushita shikousei (independent thinking)" or "ikiru chikara (life-long

learning)." More than a few individuals simply wrote "I don't know" in
response to the question, "What is critical thinking?" while some took it too

literally. In Japan, the word "critical" has a negative connotation and in the
translation can be misconceived such that the meaning is quite literally "to
question authority" or "to not accept things as they appear" as in someone who is
critical of the government. One English teacher from Komaba suggested that

"critical thinking" is a problematic word and therefore a new Japanese term is
needed to describe the concept.

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How Critical Thinking is Taught
Critical thinking is valued by B.C. and Japan's secondary teachers, however

it has various meanings and how it is to be taught is not well understood. Can
critical thinking be taught? Some teachers felt critical thinking can best be

fostered outside the secondary school classroom. According to one teacher from
B.C., "critical thinking can't be taught... it can (however) be demonstrated and

developed all through life, with early lessons (home, elementary school) being

most important." Others felt critical thinking was of primary importance to
schooling and must be taught. In the words of one Japanese teacher, "it is the

basic foundation for high school education." Assuming then, that critical
thinking (at least as these teachers perceive it) is taking place in secondary school

classroomshow is it being incorporated into the B.C. and Japanese course
curricula? What follows are responses to the question, "How do you teach critical

thinking?":

Students need to understand what critical thinking is before they
can engage in the process. (B.C., Enver Creek, social studies teacher)

Pursue the "why" behind the 'rote' answers. (B.C., Fleetwood Park,
business education teacher)

Students make up their own labs... (B.C., North Surrey, science
teacher)

Assigning open-ended case studies/problems/issues for students to

discuss, debate, and evaluate. (B.C., Princess Margaret, science
teacher)

Have students write down their own ideas and then present them
to the class. Express an opinion about the others' ideas, discuss them
together and then write a summary. (Japan, Otsuka, math teacher)

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I let the students discover problems, let them think about how to
solve the problems and then let them go about doing it on their
own. (Japan, Sakado, home economics teacher)

After I help them to understand the content of the text, I let them
state their own opinion. (Japan, Otsuka, English teacher)

From historical references, find various aspects to compare and
evaluate with existing theories and daily/modern phenomena.
(Japan, Otsuka, social studies teacher)

Just as there are many different teaching styles there are many different
contexts in which critical thinking may take place. Numerous books available
with titles such as "Teaching Critical Thinking," "Teaching Students to Think

Critically," and "Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum" purport to guide the
way for novice teachers. However, these materials remain in the domain of
mostly the academics who publish and read English-speaking journals found in
university library collections. While, many teachers do not use words such as
"Metacognitive skills" or "Socratic questioning" to describe critical thinking, they

implicitly use these techniques in their classroom teaching as evidenced by their

responses to the open-ended questions.

Comparative Perspective
Are there significant differences between B.C. and Japanese secondary

teachers' conceptions of critical thinking? The simple answer to this question is
"yes" but to leave it unexplored would be to miss important findings. As teachers

understand critical thinking within their own conceptual frameworks and
cultural contexts, there are bound to be differences between B.C. and Japanese

teachers. However, there are far too many similarities to be ignored. While factor
analysis is a powerful tool in data reduction, it relies on differences but not
between cultures. Critical thinking definers that were chosen by nearly all

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teachers would likely not be loaded into any one factor. Of the fifty definers, five

were double loaded and ten loaded below .40 and thus were not included in the
scale scoring (see Appendix D). Recall that 75 percent of the teachers chose

"Analysis" and 72 percent chose "Reasoning," yet these definers of critical

thinking were not included in any of the five factor solutions as they did not
load above .40 in any one factor. Moreover, some of the differences between B.C.

and Japanese teachers can be attributed to problems inherent in the translation of
the word "critical thinking" in addition to cultural considerations. Once these are
taken into account however, the results can be better understood.
While B.C. teachers tended to relate critical thinking to the cognitive
domain, Japanese teachers tended to favour the affective domain. This contrast

between Eastern and Western thinking is well documented (Cummings &
Altbach, 1997; Lewis, 1995; Gardner, 1989; Nakane, 1970; Reid, 1999; Rohlen &

LeTendre, 1996; Shields, 1993; Shimahara & Sakai, 1995; Stern, 1995; Stevenson &
Lee, 1995; Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). Gardner (1989) describes a "key in the lock"

story that further illustrates contrasts in Eastern and Western ways. When
traveling in South East Asia, Gardner and his wife were about to enter their

hotel room when their two year old son insisted on taking the key to open the
lock. Rather than guide the child's hand, showing him how to open the door,
they let the child discover for himself through the process of trial and error how
it is done. A Chinese observer questioned why they don't simply show the child

how to open the door by guiding his hand and thus avoiding any "mistakes."
As there is only one "right" way of doing things, the Eastern philosophy is

to have an expert teach the "right" way and thus avoid the common mistakes
made by a neophyte. Once this is demonstrated it must be practiced over and

over many times until it is learned. Traditionally, "mistakes" were not

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encouraged in Japanese classrooms. Students didn't question their teachers.

There was knowledge to be transmitted from teacher to student with little room
for debate. Perhaps these stereotypes are being challenged as Japan begins to

embrace a critical thinking approach to learning.
While Japanese may be characterized as group oriented, British

Columbians are more independent. Japanese individuals do what is best for the

group in order to keep harmony with others while maintaining a sense of
honour and morality. Equality, patience, persistence, pride, humility, unity, and
community spirit may best describe Japan's teachers. The Japanese school

curriculum emphasizes in addition to course content, socialization, morality and
behaviour, rather than cognitive abilities. On the other hand, B.C. teachers could
best be described as diverse, self-reliant, individualistic, original and

opinionated. The B.C. school curriculum emphasizes creativity, independent
thinking and cognitive processes. Japanese students are taught lessons such as

"do not say things to upset others," "don't voice your opinion," "the needs of the
few do not outweigh the needs of the many," "the nail that sticks out gets
hammered down" and "practice, practice, practice... practice makes you master."

In contrast, B.C. students are taught to state an opinion, be critical, think for
oneself and be oneself. While originality is celebrated and encouraged by B.C.'s

teachers, the same can't be said for Japan's teachers. Thus, "critical thinking" will

have different connotations within the cultural context of the two regions.
There was less agreement (or perhaps more confusion associated with the
term "critical thinking") among Japanese teachers. However, B.C.'s teachers were

not all of one mind either. While some may value Relevance more than
Cognitive Strategizing others may feel strongly about some other dimension of
critical thinking. Yet, these are not mutually exclusive concepts and the relative

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proportions of them in anyone's definition are likely to change depending on the
context of the learning. Perhaps this can best be illustrated with a metaphor. Each

individual's conception of critical thinking may be thought of as a five

dimensional critical thinking "amoeba" free to move about within the domain
of Scientific Reasoning, Conscientious Judgements, Cognitive Strategizing,

Relevance and Intellectual Engagement.
Although there were significant differences between B.C. and Japan's
secondary school teachers' conceptions of critical thinking, the similarities were
meaningful. Looking beyond the semantics of the words used to describe critical

thinking and researching deeper into the underlying concept, the common
aspects have been uncovered.

The results indicate that the general notion of critical thinking is
supported by most of the teachers surveyed. This support crossed the boundaries
of gender, age, teaching experience, subject area, and most importantly where the

teachers were from. While the precise meaning of "critical thinking" is different

for each individual, there were common elements to each teacher's conception
and how it was supported in their classroom. For many of the teachers surveyed,

two or more of the five factorsScientific Reasoning, Cognitive Strategizing,
Conscientious Judgements, Relevance and Intellectual Engagement were
endorsed.

As the thesis progressed, my own conception of critical thinking evolved

from a vague notion of higher order thinking such as analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation to a complex philosophy of thought. My definition of critical

thinking became a fusion of expert opinions from the literature, teacher
conceptions from this study and reflections from personal teaching experience.
Critical thinking consists of many dimensions as well as strategies to be used

88

depending on the context of the situation. The Foundation for Critical Thinking
(2000) web site lists no fewer than 35 affective and cognitive strategies describing

the teaching of critical thinking to high school students:

A. Affective Strategies

thinking independently
S-2 developing insight into egocentricity or sociocentricity
S-3 exercising fairmindedness
S-4 exploring thoughts underlying feelings and feelings underlying thoughts
S-5 developing intellectual humility and suspending judgment
S-6 developing intellectual courage
S-7 developing intellectual good faith or integrity
S-8 developing intellectual perseverance
S-9 developing confidence in reason
S-1

B. Cognitive Strategies - Macro-Abilities

S-10 refining generalizations and avoiding oversimplifications
S-11 comparing analogous situations: transferring insights to new contexts
S-12 developing one's perspective: creating or exploring beliefs, arguments, or theories
S-13 clarifying issues, conclusions, or beliefs
S-14 clarifying and analyzing the meanings of words or phrases
S-15 developing one's perspective: creating or exploring beliefs, arguments, or theories
S-16 evaluating the credibility of sources of information
S-17 questioning deeply: raising and pursuing root or significant questions
S-18 analyzing or evaluating arguments, interpretations, beliefs, or theories
S-19 generating or assessing solutions
S-20 analyzing or evaluating actions or policies
S-21 reading critically: clarifying or critiquing texts
S-22 listening critically: the art of silent dialogue
S-23 making interdisciplinary connections
S-24 practicing Socratic discussion: clarifying /questioning beliefs, theories, or perspectives
S-25 reasoning dialogically: comparing perspectives, interpretations, or theories
S-26 reasoning dialectically: evaluating perspectives, interpretations, or theories
C. Cognitive Strategies

Micro-Skills

S-27 comparing and contrasting ideals with actual practice
S-28 thinking precisely about thinking: using critical vocabulary
S-29 noting significant similarities and differences
S-30 examining or evaluating assumptions
S-31 distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts
S-32 making plausible inferences, predictions, or interpretations
S-33 giving reasons and evaluating evidence and alleged facts
S-34 recognizing contradictions
S-35 exploring implications and consequences

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The B.C. and Japanese teachers' conceptions of critical thinking reflected
many of the experts' suggested strategies. For example, Japanese teachers

supported Fairness and Completeness (see Figure 6) roughly corresponding to
the affective strategies S-3 exercising fairmindedness and S-8 developing

intellectual perseverance, respectively. On the other hand, B.C. teachers endorsed
Decision making and Deductive reasoning (see Figure 6) roughly corresponding
to the cognitive strategies S-19 generating or assessing solutions and S-25

reasoning dialogically: comparing perspectives, interpretations, or theories.
My own interpretation of critical thinking is thus a synthesis of research
from experts in the field of critical thinking and data from teachers surveyed. I
view critical thinking as a process in which an individual is actively engaged in

analyzing, reasoning, questioning, and creatively searching for alternatives in an
effort to solve a problem or to make a decision or judgement. In summary,
critical thinking may best be described as powerful thinking.

Implications of the Study

There is increasing support for developing critical thinking from
educators and the public in both B.C. and Japan. The teachers in this study

indicated critical thinking is of great importance. Although there were many
opinions on how critical thinking can best be taught, most teachers supported the

notion critical thinking can be fosteredprovided students are given
opportunities to ask questions, to analyze problems, to use reasoning and to

think creatively in order to make judgements. These are not merely enrichment
activities but rather they should be an integral part of all curricula as they are
important "life-skills," necessary in the work-place and elsewhere. While a few
teachers felt high school students were incapable of critical thinking, most

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indicated that they expected students to graduate from high school with the
ability to think critically.

While this study analyzed teachers' conceptions of critical thinking, more
research is necessary to explore some of the implications. If critical thinking is to

be implemented across the curriculum in B.0 or Japan's high schools, how can it
best be integrated into the reforms currently taking place in each education
system? Specifically, how can teachers incorporate critical thinking into their

lessons? Also, how can critical thinking become better understoodespecially by
Japan's teachers? Critical thinking is a Western expression, yet the concept is not
confined to the West. Thus, it is necessary to find a comparable Japanese phrase

to replace hihanteki shikou with an expression that will be better understood,

with less emphasis on "critical" and more emphasis on "thinking." What would
be a more suitable Japanese term for critical thinking? A suggestion which was
well received by the Japanese educators in the study, is to adopt a new Japanese

phrase for critical thinking, kangaeru chikarakangaeru, the verb "to think"
and chikara meaning "power or ability." Perhaps kangaeru chikara better
encompasses the nature of critical thinking as it is conceived by B.C. and Japan's
teachers.

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CHAPTER 8

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
British Columbia and Japan have been undergoing significant educational

reforms in efforts to improve student learning within the context of the
emerging global village. Critical thinking as an integral part of these reforms has

received much attention from educators, yet it remains largely undeveloped in
traditional teacher-centered classrooms. While "critical thinking" is highly
valued by educators in B.C. and Japan, there must be further research into the

way it is understood and how it can best be taught within these two education
systems.

Critical Analysis of the Methodology

The purposes of this study were (1) to obtain an overall sense of what
secondary school teachers believed critical thinking to entail; (2) to compare and
contrast B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking; (3)

to investigate the nature of B.C. and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of
critical thinking with respect to gender, age, teaching experience and subject
taught; and (4) to determine whether critical thinking is a significant part of B.C.

and Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the secondary level. In order to
achieve these objectives, 159 teachers from ten high schools were selected from a
variety of subject backgrounds, ages and experience to complete a critical

thinking card sort and questionnaire. Relationships between the characteristics of
gender, age, teaching experience, subject area, and the teachers' conceptions of

critical thinking were investigated and analyzed across the two cultures.
Methodological problems included (1) the layout of the questionnaire; (2)
the selection of critical thinking definers; (3) the assumption that 50 definers

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could adequately describe an individual's concept of critical thinking; and (4) the
selection of participants and schools. In order to critically analyze the

methodology of this study, each of these potential liabilities must be carefully

examined and suggestions made for improvements.

A limitation and potential shortcoming of the instruments used includes
the layout of the questionnaire (see Appendix A, and note that the instructions
1-3 for sorting and ranking were originally on page one of a legal-sized paper).

Possibly, some respondents didn't read the instructions carefully, skipped the
sorting and chose only ten definers which they ranked on the first page of the

questionnaire. Future studies employing a sorting of cards and questionnaire
should clearly differentiate between the tasks of sorting and ranking. One
suggestion is to place the instructions for the sorting on the first page and the

ranking on the following page (as shown in Appendix A). Thus, respondents
would be more inclined to do the sorting before turning the page to begin the
ranking procedure.

Another consideration relating to improvements in instrument design is
the selection of the definers to be written on the index cards. Most of the definers
came from Western literature on critical thinking. This bias could affect the

results. In the future, literature from both cultures should be consulted and
carefully examined before a pilot study is done. In order to avoid cultural bias,

some definers should be carefully scrutinized for potential misunderstandings
and removed or replaced if necessary. A case in point, upon completion of the
factor analysis, the five factors had to be named. To reduce the 50 definers to only
five succinct and meaningful factors was a difficult task. The choice of words was

at times a compromise. When the five factors were double translated for
accuracy, Factor 4, Relevance was not well understood by the Japanese graduate

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student asked to assist in this matter (a different individual than the graduate
student used in the original translation of the 50 definers). He indicated that this
factor needed a different name in Japanese. He preferred to use "Clarity" which

was another definer that characterized Factor 4. Finally, if there were translation
inaccuracies or ambivalent translations this could have affected the data to some

extent. While care was taken to have the critical thinking definers doubletranslated by fluently bilingual educators, further procedures must to put into
practice in order to ensure validity and cultural suitability. Perhaps consulting

more than two individuals from each region would help solve this problem.
Related to this language issue is a criticism heard at a presentation given at
the Comparative and International Education Society Conference held in San
Antonio, Texas in March 2000. A Japanese colleague commented that

individuals would have different conceptions of each of the 50 definers as well as
"critical thinking," irrespective of their culture. But if this perspective is taken

too literally, how are comparative educators to continue international crosscultural research? Naturally, language and culture are embedded in any
international comparative study. How else can a concept be investigated and
compared across two or more cultures?
Finally, an additional criticism is that external validity could have been
compromised in the selection of schools. Schools were selected with the help of
personal connections. Each of the B.C. schools were in the school district of the

researcher. All the schools selected in Japan had ties to a researcher at Tsukuba

University.

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Critical Analysis of the Results
There were significant differences between B.C. and Japanese teachers for

27 of the 50 critical thinking definers. The discriminant analysis successfully
classified 96.9 percent of teachers as either B.C. or Japanese. The results of scale

scoring the factor analysis showed that B.C. teachers viewed critical thinking

more as Cognitive Strategizing and Relevance while Japanese teachers favoured

Conscientious Judgements and Intellectual Engagement.
There were no significant differences in the teachers' conceptions of
critical thinking based on their gender or age. Yet, language arts teachers, social

studies teachers and teachers with less experience tended to support Cognitive

Strategizing more than their other colleagues. Critical thinking would appear to
be a significant part of B.C. and Japanese teaching and the curriculum at the

secondary level. However, critical thinking in its present context seems more
pervasive in B.C.'s classrooms. "Critical thinking" is more popular in B.C. but is
misunderstood by teachers on both sides of the Pacific. Is "critical thinking" a
skill or is it an abstract concept?

According to the teachers surveyed, critical thinking is a process in which
an individual is actively, engaged in analyzing, reasoning, questioning, and

creatively searching for alternatives in an effort to solve a problem or to make a
decision or judgement. Critical thinking can't be learned in isolation. It can't be
taught explicitly but rather must be integrated in all subject areas and related to

the ideas students already have.

Levels of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an abstract concept used in at least three major contexts
or levels of discourse: (1) the media and general public, (2) teacher pedagogy, and

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(3) academic discourse. It is essential that critical thinking be better understood by

individuals within all three levels, for "critical thinking" is on the verge of

becoming diluted in meaning much like "internationalization" or
"globalization." "Critical thinking" is not well understood. It may have become

merely another "buzzword" in education and may have been used without
much thought to its true meaning by many educators, politicians and the general
public. Developing "critical thinking skills" is seen by some as a panacea to the

ills of our education system. While some teachers were able to adequately

describe their conception of critical thinking, others were unsure of the meaning.

Finally, the word "critical" has a negative connotation and in the translation can
be misconceived and therefore the new Japanese term kangaeru chikara should
be used to describe the concept of critical thinking.

Comparative Education Perspective
During the pre-conference seminar of The Second Asia-Pacific

International Symposium of Teacher Education held at Waseda University,
Tokyo in March 2000, a debate ensued over "critical" comparative education. It

was suggested that "critical" comparative education methodologies are necessary

in order to apply the wealth of knowledge available through international
comparative research. It was posited that "critical" comparative education had
two dimensions: scientific and value-based judgements. Yet, to compare without

judgements or without drawing any conclusions is not "critical" comparative
education. Another individual characterized comparative education as
necessarily prescriptive as well as descriptive. "Critical pedagogy" was used to

describe the nature of "critical" comparative education. Phrases such as "logical-

abstract thinking," "child-centred learning through problem solving," "learning

96

by doing," "the ability to identify problems and to learn for oneself" were used to

describe "critical thinking." The Japanese educational tradition of Hansei or the
critical reflection on moral issues was cited as a noteworthy example. The ideal

teacher was characterized as someone who fostered critical thinking in students.
Also, it was suggested critical thinking would have the effect of making students

more humanistic. The meaning of the word "critical" was something that
occupied over 20 minutes of discussion from some of the world's leading

researchers in comparative education and yet no consensus on the meaning of
"critical" was reached.

Many phenomena can't be described by language alone. Languages have

evolved differently in various cultures. European languages always have the
individual centred in the dialogue while Japanese language is based on space

rather than form. For example, the sentence, "I am cold." is just samui
(adjective, meaning "cold"). "I" is rarely articulated in Japanese as it is

understood within the context of the situation. In any literal translation there are
subtle nuances that are often not conveyed or the meaning can be altered. An
important concept that was often confused with critical thinking, Ikiru chikara
or "life-long learning" is central to B.C. and Japan's educational reforms as

kangaeru chikara or critical thinking is essential to solving the problems facing
our world. To embrace these new paradigms in learning significant reforms
must take place in the form and function of schools as well as the nature of the
curriculum. School must be a place where students can explore options and
make choices. The teacher must act as a facilitator rather than a disseminator of
factual knowledge.

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Recommendations and Implications for Future Studies
Both B.C. and Japanese education systems should foster critical thinking

while supporting mentorship, collaboration and peer consultation among
teachers. Specifically, what B.C. needs is a proposal that will improve student

learning as well as the pre-service and in-service training of teachers. Part of the

solution lies in Japan's apprenticeship model of teacher education and the
professional development school (PDS) as proposed by the Holmes Group of

research universities in the U.S., dedicated to the reform of teaching and teacher
education. The PDS embodies much of the spirit of collaboration and

mentorship of the Japanese model while providing a link between the research
of universities and the practice of teaching in schools. The potential of the PDS
has recently emerged as one of the most exciting possibilities for systematic
educational reform (Petrie, 1995; Levine, 1992). The goals of the PDS school could

be realized, with the following changes made to B.C.'s present school system:
1)

2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

'7)

Redefine the role of the teacher as facilitator and co-learner.
Change the structure of the timetable to incorporate time for reflection,
sharing and continued professional development.
Adopt 6/8 blocks as F.T.E. for Secondary and 4/5 days for Elementary.
Hire more "new" teachers (student teachers) at 0.50 F.T.E. (3 or 4 blocks) as
learning practitioners for 1 year terms.
Pay student teachers at 50 percent of Category 5
(Professional Certificate, 0 years experience).
Offer a one year sabbatical for teachers every 5 years for professional
development.
Support education decision-making by a professional association or
college of teachers.

The money saved from hiring beginning teachers as apprentices would more
than compensate for the reduced assignments and subsequent salary shortfalls of
experienced teachers. Also, more time would be available for reflection and
collaboration much like Japanese schools.

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In contrast, Japan's education system could be reformed in the following
ways:
1)

Redefine the role of the teacher as facilitator and co-learner.

2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Decrease class sizes (see #4 below).

7)
8)

Implement a more comprehensive extended teaching practicum.
Hire more "new" teachers to reduce the increasing stress of teachers.
Continue increasing the electives offered in high school.
Change the examination system to reduce the stress on students.
Offer a sabbatical for teachers every 5 years for professional development.
Support education decision-making by a professional association or
college of teachers.

In order to facilitate these recommendations for changes to B.0 and Japanese
education systems, resources may need to be redirected to enhance teacher

training, professional development and teaching conditions.
Teachers are in the business of educating students but there is a role for
everyone to play. Teachers, administrators, parents, business people,

governments and universities must work together, comprehensively in order to
evoke educational change. First and foremost, teachers must learn how to think
critically for themselves. This is a necessary foundation for critical thinking

educational reform. Administrators can ensure that there is long-term inservice
for teachers in learning and teaching critical thinking. Parents can provide a

home environment in which the intellectual discipline of their children is
fosteredwhere decisions are questioned and problems are reflected on together.
Business people can help by pushing governments for educational reform. Since
critical thinking is essential to effective group problem solving, progressive

business people should network with educators and civic leaders in order to
create a public awareness of the importance of critical thinking. The Ministry of

Education or Monbusho should fund further research into how to foster critical

IC)

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thinking especially in high school students, universities and teachers in training.
Professors should emphasize critical thinking in their classes by routinely

fostering reasoning and ensuring that their students regularly assess their own
work using intellectual standards.
Critical thinking is not likely to become valued in education unless it is
valued by society at large. There is much apathy to overcome. Moreover, some

societies may not value critical thinking due to cultural considerations. Japan has
just begun to embrace critical thinking yet other nations may not yet be ready.

For teachers to foster critical thinking they must first become committed to

thinking critically and reflectively about their own lives and the lives of those

around them. Teachers must regularly model for students what it is to
reflectively examine, critically assess, and effectively improve life.

Thinking is pre-eminently an art; knowledge and propositions
which are the products of thinking, are works of art, as much so as
statuary and symphonies. Every successive stage of thinking is a
conclusion in which the meaning of what has produced it is
condensed; and it is no sooner stated than it is a light radiating to
other things- unless it be a fog which obscures them (Dewey,
1929/1958, p. 378).

While over half the teachers surveyed indicated they taught critical
thinking, many had some difficulty expressing exactly how to teach it effectively.

In order to foster critical thinking by students, teachers must first critique present

educational practices and the beliefs underlying them. To understand the nature
of critical thinking, educators must be asked fundamental questions about the

nature of knowledge, learning and the process of thinking. Through further
international comparative studies, education systems can be improved. Teachers

must be given opportunities to learn from one another and to benefit from the
accumulated wisdom of generations of skilled practitioners. In addition, teachers

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must be given adequate time for collaboration, planning and reflection. The
reforms of education in both British Columbia and Japan require a rethinking of
the profession of teaching, for any effort to reform the structure or organization
of education ultimately depends on the effectiveness of the teacher.
While this study analyzed teachers' conceptions of critical thinking, some
questions remain to be answered. If critical thinking is to be implemented across

the curriculum in B.0 and Japan's high schools, how can it best be integrated into
the reforms currently taking place in each education system? Specifically, how

can teachers incorporate critical thinking into their lessons? Also, how can

critical thinking become better understoodespecially by Japan's teachers?
Critical thinking is a fundamental concept in education that requires more study.
Further comparative education research is necessary on methodologies, teaching
strategies, critical thinking and the role of the teacher. This will help to improve

student learning and will provide a cross-cultural and international
understanding and appreciation of learning necessary for "life-skills" in the 21st
century much like literacy and numeracy for the 20th century.

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REFERENCES
Alberta Chamber Resources, Alberta Dept. of Education. (1992). International
comparisons in education: Curriculum, values, and lessons. Edmonton:
Alberta Chamber Resources. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.
ED 348278)

Altbach, P. G. & Tan, E. J. (Eds.) (1995). Programs and centers in comparative and
international education: a global inventory. Buffalo, N.Y.: Comparative
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1"
A.

108

APPENDIX A
B.C. & JAPAN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER SURVEY
SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' CONCEPTIONS OF CRITICAL THINKING
IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND JAPAN - A COMPARATIVE STUDY1

Edward Howe; Graduate student at UBC
Roger Boshier; Supervisor 822-5822

The concept of critical thinking has received much attention among educators
internationally, yet critical thinking is an important skill that remains largely

undeveloped in traditional teachercentered secondary school classrooms.
Presently, there is much research in progress on the meaning of critical thinking,
on the transferability of critical thinking skills to a wide range of subject areas,
and on methods of teaching critical thinking. However, there is still some debate

exactly what is meant by the term "critical thinking". Previous attempts to
define critical thinking have encompassed both its form and function, including
the skills and strategies as well as the levels of complexity involved. Often critical
thinking has been linked to creative thinking, and problem solving as well as
inductive and deductive reasoning. While "critical thinking" is highly espoused

by educators and employers both in B.C. and Japan, there has been little
examination of the way critical thinking is actually understood within these two

education systems. Until now, there has been no comparison of different
conceptions of critical thinking held by teachers in B.C. and Japan. In order to

foster critical thinking by students, teachers must first critique present
educational practices and the beliefs underlying them. To understand the nature
of critical thinking, educators must be asked fundamental questions about the
nature of knowledge, learning and the process of thinking. Therefore, having
regard to the foregoing, the purpose of this study is to compare and contrast B.C.
and Japanese secondary teachers' conceptions of critical thinking.

It should take about 15 minutes to complete this 2 part, 2 page survey. Your
identity will be kept confidential because your name is not required. Therefore,
please do not put your name on this survey. If you complete the questionnaire, it
will be assumed that your consent has been provided. You may chose to refuse to

participate or may withdraw at any time. This study will not jeopardize your
teaching position in any way. Any inquiries concerning the procedures of this
study may be directed to the researcher at the above number. Thank you for your
assistance.

Part 1 Classification/Card sort
Given the supplied deck of cards with critical thinking vocabulary words,

1. Choose those words that you think are relevant to "critical thinking."
2. Place the "critical thinking" cards in one pile and put aside the other cards.
(If you are unsure about the relevance, do not place that card in the "critical thinking" pile.)
' This survey was originally on legalsize paper. It has been condensed to fit this format.

1G

109

3. Choose the ten most significant cards and rank them 1-10. Write them in the
space below:
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

Part 2 Questionnaire
1. What is your gender?

I

I Man

I

I Woman

years

2. What is your age?

3. What is your main subject area (please check one box only):
I

I Language Arts

I

I

I Math

I

I

I Science
I Social Studies

I

I

I
I

I

I Business Education
I Computer Science
I Foreign Languages
I Industrial Education

I Fine Art (Art, Music & Drama)

I Other (please specify)
years

4.

How many years teaching experience do you have?

5.

Identify the 5 most significant learning outcomes attained by your
students:

6.

Upon successful completion of high school students should be able to:

7.

What 5 words best describe an outstanding student?

8.

What is the meaning of "critical thinking"?

9.

Is critical thinking part of the prescribed curriculum for your subject?
I

10.

I Yes

I

INo

I

I Unsure

I

I Unsure

Is critical thinking taught in your classroom?
I

' Yes

I

I No

If you answered "Yes" to question 10, then please answer question 11.
11.

How do you teach critical thinking? (use a separate page if necessary)

119

110

APPENDIX B

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120

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121

112

APPENDIX C

Critical Thinking Definers Spreadsheet
English Word

Japanese Word

Accuracy
Active participation

rif
ME141Z.Oblre.86

Adequacy

Atil
ii.ifi

Analysis
Analytical skills
Clarifying ideas

Clarity

3-)4fil74-/l,
#11..:0I3filifiL
IN IiSt

Completeness

Mt
fi7c

t.Z*bv-.6

Consistency
Constructive skepticism inantsfinfro
Convergent thinking
1130110:11,1a3.*
Cooperative learning
trAtti0D6'43N
Creative thinking
eliAnti:
Decision making
;Mgt
Deductive reasoning
MA. 51Ittgt/Val
Depth

;g

Disciplined

V6tv'CLN6

learning

Discovery

Divergent thinking
Drawing conclusions
Drawing

inferences

5E.R.4-4E

sow] (fp<A.,-c) EA
tilifM
1it1tit.-W-q-6

Evaluating assumptions
152tOitTia
Evaluation
PIE
Fairness
'/..T
Higher order thinking
AMP,*
Hypothesize
WI 'Z' 6
Identifying/removing bias. . /3101/2t-C.R.4E664-1,6
Independent thinking
Itlitz)19.41'.1
0

Inductive reasoning
Intellectual challenges

Investigate
Logical
Metacognitive

skills

intAfIllttitAlgoll
MIIMtili

IM-C.6

roin

)(iInl:17.t-A,

Objective

40A*41Villz.R.641,6

Open-minded

OA75itso/67)1Mo/t-/>74>F

Precision

MI

Problem solving
Rational thinking
Reasoning

rARENA

Relevance
Responsible

Self-directed

/Elite

is-ifauf.3A

qt/MM/MM
JEIEl1#1/l/IJ/Ii

ni-167516

Socratic questioning

kl ER?*
I/Mkt
V 55-7nRrACG4

Specificity

ggii/HAM

Significance

Student-centred
Subjective
Synthesis
Taking ownership
Thoughtful judgements

i;e:11:13ii..%

rt$IiiiIrlIzZ.R.i5t1,6

tairlatl 6
it (S) tkliOtOML/CLI3X6
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122

APPENDIX D

Rotated Component Matrix of 50 Critical Thinking Definers
Critical Thinking Factor Loadings

Critical Thinking Definers

1

2

3

4

5

drawing inferences
hypothesize
convergent thinking
inductive reasoning
creative thinking
problem solving
drawing conclusions

.68
.65
.59
.59
.50
.46
.46
.40
.39
.38
.36
.34

.16
.29
.13
.30
.10
.09
.19
.24
.37
.16
.31

.11

.05
.15
.16
.06

.14
.15
.03
.02
.47
.09
.05
.04
.16
.08
.05
.18

.70
.64
.61
.59
.55
.54
.46
.44
.40

-.20
.08
-.02
.06
.28
-.06
-.10
.00

open-minded

.03
.14
.19
.15
.19
.23
.27
.41
.05

accuracy
consistency
objective
adequacy
specificity
precision
fairness
logical
responsible
depth

.06
.02
.13
.06
.20
.12
-.22
.31
-.23
.04

-.08
.08
-.03
-.10
-.03
.04
.00

.68
.61
.60

.06
.13
.35

.49
.45
.35

clarity

.12
.22
.19
.16
-.12
.32
.30

.08
.12
.25
.13

.35
.09

-.13
.30
.24

-.02
.10

.05
.15

.03
-.23
.34
.13
.19
-.11
.08
.18
-.02
.18

analysis

divergent thinking
reasoning

analytical skills
clarifying ideas

metacognitive skills
constructive skepticism
socratic questioning
identifying/removing bias

rational thinking
higher order thinking
evaluating assumptions
deductive reasoning

relevance
decision making
significance
completeness
synthesis
investigate
disciplined
evaluation

active participation
taking ownership
discovery learning
student-centred
intellectual challenges
self-directed
subjective
independent thinking

cooperative learning
thoughtful judgements

.21

.14
.05
.02
.01
-.15
.03
.22
-.38
.12
.04
.24

.40

.57
.54
.54
.51

-.19
.37
.44
.11
.18
.34
.23
.20

.18
-.06
.18
.29
.05
.02
.26
.23
.00
.31

-.01
-.17
.19
.31
.34
.07
.12
.17
.19

.13
.12
.08
.04
.08
.14
.10

-.20
.05

-.08
.04
.12
.27
.15
.08
.31

-.10
.33
.25

-.06
.07
.16

.05
.12
.12

.61
.53
.52
.51
.51
.41
.32
.31
.29

-.04

.04

.21

.12
.07
-.01
.22
.07
.01
.16
.16
.33

.21

.08
-.06
.21
-.09
.05
.25
.14
.42
-.09

.62
.56
.56
.54
.54
.45
.44
.43
.43
.39

-.24
.17
.26
.16

.08
-.04
.05
.23
.08
.00

-.05
.24

.11

.30
-.11
.19
.15
.18

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Equamax with Kaiser Normalization.
Rotation converged in 14 iterations.

1..23

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