Abstract

• The main purpose of this study is to investigate the teachers‟ critical thinking disposition, supports of their principals and their teaching practices in promoting primary students‟ critical thinking skills. The specific objectives are 1) to examine the critical thinking dispositions among primary teachers, 2) to explore the level of the principals‟ supports, 3) to inspect the practices of teachers in promoting primary students‟ critical thinking skills, 4) to investigate the best predictors for teachers‟ practices in promoting primary students‟ critical thinking skills, and 5) to study the primary students‟ critical thinking skills. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to collect the required data for this study. Three phases were conducted in this study. In phase I, quantitative study was conducted by using questionnaire survey method. In phase II, qualitative study on teacher‟s practices in teaching primary students‟ critical thinking skills was conducted by using observation method and interview method. As the phase III, primary students‟ critical thinking skills was assessed by using the questionnaire. Three hundreds and eighteen teachers who are teaching at the primary level participated in this study. The collected data were systematically analyzed by quantitative and qualitative data analysis method. The results revealed that the critical thinking dispositions of primary teachers in this study were high and the supports of the principals was enough. It was found that the principals‟ supports is the best predictor on teachers‟ practices on promoting primary students‟ critical thinking skills, teachers‟ critical thinking dispositions as the second predictor and teachers‟ qualification as the third predictor. The findings underscore the significant role that teachers‟ practices play in promoting critical thinking abilities among their students.