Acquisition of Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Secondary Education: A Case Study in a Macau Secondary School
Date: 2023-11-23
Degree: Doctoral Thesis
Programme: Education
Authors: Siu Ka U
Supervisors: Prof. Stewart Martin, Emeritus Professor, University of Hull, United Kingdom; Co-supervisor: Prof. Elisa Monteiro, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Saint Joseph
Abstract:
Scholars (e.g., Heong et al., 2011; Marzano & Kendall, 2006; Munzenmaier & Rubin, 2013; Debopriyo, 2014; Stapa & Ibaharim, 2020) in the 21st century have emphasised the significance of higher-order thinking skills, which are said as keys to developing young people’s creativity and problem-solving skills. However, rote memorisation and imitating knowledge might still seem to be the frequently used teaching techniques of educators in Asia (Zhang, 2017; Tung & Chang, 2009). Therefore, investigating how teachers transmitted knowledge to students and the perceptions they had in developing their students’ higher-order thinking skills is beneficial to the 21st education. The present study examined the perceptions of fourteen secondary English teachers, around two hundred and forty secondary school students and fifty-five parents about their perceptions of how higher-order thinking skills had been promoted and taught in the target school. Research instruments such as a questionnaire, a twelve-week experiment, pre-and post-tests and interviews were used for the data collection. The findings suggested that the participants might not have sufficient preparation for higher-order thinking acquisition. After twelve weeks, the experimental group developed higher synthetical and evaluative skills through metacognitive activities and learner-centred pedagogy than the control group, which instead demonstrated better language skills. The data of the teacher participants also showed that they might have a limited understanding of the skills and how they could be taught. The results indicated potential discrepancies between the curriculum and the expectations among the stakeholder groups. Therefore, the study recommended secondary school stakeholders might need to provide adequate support for teacher training.
Keywords: higher-order thinking skills, secondary education, cognitive thinking
