From policies to realities: Developing students' critical thinking in Hong Kong secondary school english writing classes

Abstract

In 1999 a critical thinking syllabus was issued by the education authority to all junior secondary school English language teachers in Hong Kong. Different from the earlier curriculum guidelines, the syllabus highlights the importance of thinking in English language teaching and learning, and developing students' critical thinking through the subject. This study aims to investigate through classroom observation whether the critical thinking syllabus is translated into the classroom practices of two teachers. In the case studies covering more than 600 minutes of classroom teaching, four writing lessons were observed, analyzed and reported. The data reveal that the two teachers constantly deprived their students of the time and space for critical thinking. What is striking about the classroom data is that these teachers were indeed not creating the space of learning for students' writing development. The study, though exploratory, has important implications regarding students' critical thinking development. The paper concludes that it is important for teacher trainers to help teachers become reflective writing instructors. © The Author(s), 2009.