Education experts call for revisiting school curricula to promote critical thinking, coexistence

AMMAN — School curricula should promote mind-provoking activities in order to enhance creativity and deepen coexistence, according to field experts.

Educators and academic experts said young generations need critical thinking skills "more than ever" to cope with developments in the region and the world. 

Thoqan Obeidat, an educational expert and former secretary general at the Ministry of Education, said national school curricula, despite repeated reviews and edits, "limit" students' thinking and promote stereotypical thinking.

"In a single text book the phrase 'the student commits' is repeated over 100 times, while the phrases 'the student chooses' and 'the student discusses' are only mentioned twice," he explained to The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

At a time when textbooks are required to engage students and advance their critical thinking skills, "there is nothing in our curricula that attracts students' attention,” Obeidat said.

He noted that subjects like music and arts are not put into practice, despite their importance in building students' characters, and students do not learn a thing on logic and philosophy.

"Logic is an entry to philosophy, a subject that widens people's horizons," Obeidat said, stressing that philosophy is a key subject to develop students' thought process. 

Not only do school textbooks lack material that encourages creativity and critical thinking, they also lack "inclusive values that encourage respecting others with different points of view", according to former deputy prime minister Marwan Muasher.

He criticised the absence of an overall education strategy that develops citizens rather than people who passively receive information without questioning, adding that textbooks are not generally taught in a manner that encourages students to ask questions.

Enriching school curricula with content on philosophy and art enhances students' knowledge and instils positive value in their minds, Muasher, a former foreign minister, said.

"Those who say that the education system has other priorities [than arts] totally miss the point," he said, highlighting the role of arts in creating a generation that respects others. 

Education expert Hosni Ayesh underscored a lack in qualified teachers who encourage students to speak their minds and express their views freely, and avoid didactic teaching styles.

Another challenge lies in the fact that not the best students become teachers and those who are good at teaching usually do not stay in this career, Ayesh added.

He cited rationalism, secular democracy, citizenship, human rights and knowledge as common factors among advanced nations, adding that such ideals are "the only way for the nation to move forward".

"The challenges and dangers our region is facing collectively and independently require a different form of education and a different type of teachers who educate different types of students," Ayesh said.

On the other hand, Omar Miqdadi, head of the ministry's curricula department, said promoting critical thinking is one of the ministry's strategies that reflects in school curricula for all stages, but the problem is in teachers' implementation.

"There is not enough training for teachers on how to employ these kinds of activities," he told The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Wednesday, adding that the ministry has recently developed a strategy to follow up on the in-class performance of teachers and offer them capacity-building training programmes.

Miqdadi noted that the ministry has recently included a drama course for grades four to six, and is working on developing a similar course for grades seven to 10.

"The theatre course seeks to hone students' skills and to improve their psychological and social awareness," he said, adding that physical exercise periods have been raised to two per week.

While Muasher said enhancing the quality of education should be the top priority of future governments, Obeidat called for creating a national commission with members from across the social and cultural spectrum in Jordan to oversee the preparation of school curricula.