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Re-Defining and Re-Designing Public Education in Pakistan: The Case of Critical Thinking

Re-Defining and Re-Designing Public Education in Pakistan: The Case of Critical Thinking

Khushbakht Suhail (University of Tsukuba, Japan)
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5107-3.ch016
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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to offer a re-conceptualization of education in Pakistan, rooted in its unique context, that might maximize progress for the country and its citizens. Attempts at reform in the public education system of Pakistan are examined and parallels with foreign trends in reform largely driven by the popular ‘Human Capital' theory are found. This chapter identifies a form of education based in the cultural and historical legacy of the people of Pakistan, especially focused on development of critical-thinking skills of students. While it is teachers' responsibility to facilitate critical-thinking in students, they cannot do so if their own critical-thinking is not well developed. A critical-thinking disposition assessment of public primary teachers found that teachers have low scores. Therefore, this chapter concludes that the teacher-education system in Pakistan should be revamped to enhance critical-thinking of teachers as well as students. Policymakers in Pakistan are recommended to collaborate with IB for development of such a teacher-education system.
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The Purpose Of Education

On the first day of the course ‘Pedagogy for a Changing World’ at University of Tsukuba in Japan, Professor Carol Inugai Dixon, President of The Japan Association for Research into IB Education, implored her students to reflect on what education is for, instead of what education means. She argued that if we can specify the precise purpose of education, we will be able to define and design a meaningful education system (Dixon, 2019).

One of the most influential theories about the purpose and function of education is the Human Capital Theory (HCT), the roots of which can be traced back to the work of Theodore Schultz (e.g. Schultz, 1960). According to this theory, the purpose of education is to train individuals in such a way that they can attract better employment and earn more money, which in turn will increase economic growth for the state. Therefore, in this view, the motive for education is as an ‘investment’ to gain greater economic rewards in future and to drive the development of national economies as a result (Machlup, 1982).

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