Investigating Critical Thinking Strategies Integrated in Cycle 2 and Post-Basic Education in English Language Teaching in Oman

Critical Thinking has been most simply defined by Ennis (2011), one of the most influential authorities on the subject, as [r]easonable and reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do (Ennis, 2011, p. 1). It has been seen to be a transferable skill reaching beyond the classroom into various industries and vocations ranging from nursing, medicine, banking, hospitality and senior and mid-level management in the public and private sectors. It has often been seen to be the single most important skill required by business negotiators as well as lawyers. Hailed by educationists as being one of the most essential skills in the classroom across all levels, the extent to which it is actually being included, taught and evaluated in Oman's schools remains largely unexplored. Much of the research available on this subject in Oman indicates that critical thinking, particularly in the English Language classrooms, remains a distant outcome of middle and high school learning (Al-Busaidi, 1995; Al-Issa, 210; Al-Issa Al-Bulushi,2011; Al-Mahrooqi, 2012 (a b); Al-Jardani, 2012; Samarsinghe, 2014). However, there is no standard test which has been used to support this notion that critical thinking has not been sufficiently integrated into the basic schooling system in Oman nor has there been any systematic study to identify the lacunae which exist between the declaration of critical thinking as an educational goal and its actual implementation. This project will investigate and evaluate the role of critical thinking across the English Language Curriculum of Cycle 2 consisting of grades 6 to 10 (from which grades 6 and 9 will be chosen) and the Post-Basic education (grades 11 and 12) of a representative group of schools in Oman. The study is motivated primarily by anecdotal evidence (based on classroom experience) pointing to a gap in the skills aimed at synthesizing, inferencing and critiquing found by the researchers at the tertiary level. In addition, it is also triggered by the increased deliberations on the part of the Ministry of Education concerning its English Language Curriculum as projected in its document of 210. Research based on this document has pointed to gaps between the pedagogical postulations and the pragmatic, methodological outcomes of this document, even four years after its official formulation and 15 years after the implementation of Basic Education (Al-Issa Al-Bulushi, 2012). As such, this project seeks to evaluate entrants to the tertiary level of College/University education in order to test the level of critical thinking ability with which they enter colleges. It will then investigate the school classroom situation, both, from the point of view of teachers, as well as the students to identify the way in which critical thinking is being defined and incorporated into the teaching of English Language. Further, it will also provide suggestions, recommendations as well as ways of testing critical thinking which will be based on local conditions and specifications. In this way, this project aims at creating a wider space for personal development on the part of the middle and high school students, equipping them with life skills in reading, questioning, inferring, judging opinions and critiquing commonly held assumptions, thereby making it possible for them to take advantage of challenging employment opportunities with knowledge, confidence and appropriate skills.