Abstract
Thinking skills have been included in the National Curriculum alongside
‘key skills’ such as those to do with communication and information and
communications technology (ICT). Thinking skills are expected to be developed
at all key stages and centre on: information-processing skills, reasoning skills,
enquiry skills, creative thinking skills and evaluation skills.
This literature review consisted of three phases based on the following research
questions:
1. What pedagogical approaches to developing generic thinking skills currently
exist for children between the ages of three and seven?
2. What are the generic thinking skills that children are able to demonstrate at
this age?
3. What is the relationship between these thinking capabilities and those that the
pedagogical approaches aim to develop?
The review covered post-2000 literature in the area of thinking skills in the early
years. It provides an update of the evidence base upon which thinking skills
approaches have been established, suggests areas where more evidence is needed and makes some practical recommendations for researchers, policy makers and
practitioners.
‘key skills’ such as those to do with communication and information and
communications technology (ICT). Thinking skills are expected to be developed
at all key stages and centre on: information-processing skills, reasoning skills,
enquiry skills, creative thinking skills and evaluation skills.
This literature review consisted of three phases based on the following research
questions:
1. What pedagogical approaches to developing generic thinking skills currently
exist for children between the ages of three and seven?
2. What are the generic thinking skills that children are able to demonstrate at
this age?
3. What is the relationship between these thinking capabilities and those that the
pedagogical approaches aim to develop?
The review covered post-2000 literature in the area of thinking skills in the early
years. It provides an update of the evidence base upon which thinking skills
approaches have been established, suggests areas where more evidence is needed and makes some practical recommendations for researchers, policy makers and
practitioners.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Slough |
| Publisher | National Foundation for Educational Research |
| Number of pages | 73 |
| ISBN (Print) | 1 905314 12 4 |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2005 |
Keywords
- Early years, Foundation Stage, nursery schools, primary schools, thinking skills, critical thinking, core skills