Dialogic education for sustainable development as a pathway to critical thinking

Abstract

In an era of intricate social and environmental challenges, fostering critical thinking is crucial for comprehending and addressing these issues. This descriptive case study explores how students' critical thinking evolved through dialogic education for sustainable development around ocean waste, life below water, and air pollution issues. A course of five lessons spanning ten hours in total was designed to integrate the principles of dialogic teaching including collective, reciprocal, deliberative, supportive, cumulative, and purposeful. Multiple data sources of concept maps, worksheets, and observations were triangulated to investigate the development of cognitive and dispositional aspects of 28 high-school students’ critical thinking. Results showed that dialogic activities supported both cognitive and affective aspects of critical thinking competency. A pair t-test comparing pre- and post-concept maps demonstrated a statistically significant difference in students' knowledge development in terms of the extent, breadth, and depth. This study also reveals that dialogic education enhanced students’ capacity for analysis, explanation, interpretation, and making inference. It also facilitated the dispositional promotion of truth-seeking, open-mindedness, and self-confidence.