Poor critical thinking in schools leading to ill-equipped workforce, academics warn ministers

Scientists and academics from the University of Malta are warning about the lack of critical thinking in primary and secondary school learning in a letter to ministers.

In an open letter distributed on Friday, 40 academics from the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics warned that the existing learning outcomes framework used in schools is failing to nourish critical and innovative thinking among students.

The letter reads that the current culture surrounding education is one of mechanical learning, or memorising the ins and outs of a topic without understanding the “why”.

The letter was sent to Justyne Caruana, Clyde Caruana and Owen Bonnici, ministers responsible for education, employment and innovation, resepctively.

The academics argue that the situation has led to a workforce that is ill-equipped at problem-solving, which has only exacerbated Malta’s reliance on third-country nationals for technical jobs. 

“We don’t necessarily think that teachers should be retrained,” computer science lecturer Christian Colombo said. “On the contrary, we want them to be given more space to teach creatively without worrying too much on finishing the syllabus.” 

The academics make a distinction between STEM knowledge and STEM thinking. While there are syllabi in place for students to develop their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, those same syllabi are not allowing students to develop creative, computational or critical thinking. 

Such thinking would go beyond specific career paths, instead focusing on problem-solving skills that can be used across disciplines. 

The academics further proposed the introduction of dedicated STEM programmes, in the same vein as the vocational Malta Visual and Performing Arts School, to help exceptional students cultivate their skills.

A third proposal is to set up a resource centre to encourage collaborative research across disciplines. This physical centre would serve as a space to centralise and integrate resources while in tandem acting as a professional coordinating body to promote stakeholder engagement in a more coordinated manner.

“We would at least like the government to acknowledge that there is a problem here,” masters student Jake Xuereb said. “There are a number of initiatives aimed at promoting STEM subjects, but we still lack in creative and computational thinking.”

MATSEC examiners have often pointed out weak critical skills among students sitting for their O and A-level examinations. Examiners for the 2020 English A-level reported “weak to very weak critical skills” as many students attempted to repackage rehearsed material.

A similar warning was flagged by examiners assessing the 2019 Systems of Knowledge exam. The examiners said that many of the answers provided did not follow a logical or structured sequence, while oftentimes candidates would memorise generic essays and reproduce them without acknowledgement of the question in the exam.

The open letter was addressed to the Ministry for Education, the Ministry for Finance and Employment, and the Ministry for Research and Innovation.

Read the letter here: