批判思考的批判──香港高中通識教育科教學實踐的爭議

Critique of Critical Thinking: Controversy in the Instructional Practice on Liberal Studies in Hong Kong Senior Secondary Curriculum

香港為迎接新世紀而進行課程改革，把「批判思考」認定為其中一項核心共通能力；同時在新高中課程的核心科目通識教育科中，亦把「批判思考」訂明為重要的元素。2009年，教育局發布了一個教材套，具體訂定了「批判思考」的定義與內容。本文將對這個官方所理解的「批判思考」版本加以評核。對照於「批判思考」教學、「批判素養」與「批判教學法」的相關文獻，本文將顯示官方界定的「批判思考」，忽略了在「批判思考」教學議論中的重要度向及批判性本身的大部分要素。據此，本文將提出一個較為綜合的架構，使讀者在理解「批判思考」理念時有所參考。

Critical thinking has been identified as one of the core generic skills in the curriculum reform of the Hong Kong educational system for the new millennium. It has also been stipulated as the essential constituent for the core subject Liberal Studies in the New Senior Secondary Curriculum. In 2009， the Hong Kong Education Bureau has issued an instructional package to specify the definition and substances of the concept. In this article， this official version of the understanding of the concept will be assessed. With reference to the literature of critical thinking， critical literacy and critical pedagogy， this article will show that the official definition of critical thinking has neglected some significant aspects in the discourse of critical thinking teaching and most of the essential features of the notion of criticality. Accordingly， the article will propose a more comprehensive framework for understanding the idea of critical thinking.