Critical thinking in the preschool classroom - A systematic literature review

Critical thinking is acknowledged as a 21st century skill that allows humans to make considered and informed decisions based on the information available to them. Studies exploring critical thinking during the early years are of particular significance because they enable researchers to refine a general view of critical thinking and situate it in the context of young children. Current opinion regarding critical thinking is founded on years of international research in various fields, including primary and secondary education, higher education institutions and industry. This paper reports on a systematic literature review of 25 empirical studies which address various ways of teaching for thinking focusing on children attending early years services. The review aims to gain insights that lead towards a definition of critical thinking in an early years context. To this end, research conducted during 2015–2021 is examined for characteristics of critical thinking in early childhood and teaching strategies developed to support thinking in the early years' classroom. The methodology draws from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Despite the small number of articles sourced which address the review questions, there was a reasonable weight of evidence to suggest the most common characteristics of critical thinking explored in young children are reasoning skills and problem solving. The findings suggest effective mediators in drawing out critical thinking skills include (1) classroom interactions including dialogue and questioning techniques, (2) the use of thinking language, and (3) story-based approaches. The cases in which critical thinking are investigated in early years environments were surprisingly few. The paper concludes with a summary of the implications of the findings for the future of learning and teaching and recommendations relevant to advancing teaching for thinking with young children.