Vol. 32 No. 2 (2024): Critical Thinking. Interdisciplinary and didactical explorations of a new paradigm
Facing the many challenges of the present (conspiracy narratives, fake news, AI), the concept of Critical Thinking is becoming increasingly important for school and university education. The central concern is to enable students to think independently and critically. The concept of Critical Thinking, which was founded in philosophy and further developed in educational science, goes beyond the everyday theoretical understanding of "being critical". It is characterised by methodological, comprehensible, communicable and self-reflexive thinking. Beyond the cognitive dimensions (knowledge, argumentation and judgement skills), Critical Thinking can be understood as a habitus shaped by certain attitudes and dispositions, such as openness, courage, modesty, self-efficacy, creativity, perseverance, etc. (cf. Jahn/Cursio 2021).
First models of how Critical Thinking can be conceptualised for subject teaching can currently be found above all in the context of the didactics of the natural sciences (Rafolt/Kapelai/Kremer 2019). However, the ability to think critically, as can be seen in the example of religious judgement competence, is also a central concern in the subject didactics of religion. The autumn issue of ÖRF 2024 is dedicated to the fundamental question of what this paradigm yields for (religious) education.