Fostering Critical Thinking Through

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Dennis Chun-Lok Fung
Tim Weijun Liang

Fostering Critical
Thinking Through
Collaborative
Group Work
Insights from Hong Kong
Fostering Critical Thinking Through Collaborative
Group Work
Dennis Chun-Lok Fung Tim Weijun Liang
•

Fostering Critical Thinking

Through Collaborative Group
Work
Insights from Hong Kong

123
Dennis Chun-Lok Fung Tim Weijun Liang
The University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong

ISBN 978-981-13-2410-9 ISBN 978-981-13-2411-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2411-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018953714

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

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Preface

This book was written for scholars of education and curriculum policy as well as
educational practitioners in both local and global contexts. Specifically, with the
dual goal of examining both the academic and attitudinal facets of critical thinking,
we aim to share our significant empirical findings with international scholars who
are keen to explore the effectiveness of group work in fostering critical thinking in
Hong Kong and beyond. Informed by the findings from both the primary and
secondary classrooms, we hope to provide pedagogical implications with a view to
helping frontline teachers to translate the curriculum goal of nurturing critical
thinkers into classroom practice. We also strive to shed light on the implementation
of group work strategies in line with the Hong Kong government’s Small-Class
Teaching Initiative, since our research not only strengthens the theoretical and
practical roots of group work, but also provides examples of good classroom
practices of group work. Despite group work and critical thinking being emphasised
as important educational goals in Hong Kong and other educational settings, their
potential is comparatively unrealised in school practice and is even far from being
maximised. In response to the urgent need for practical and strategic models of
teaching critical thinking with the aid of group work in classrooms, we believe that
this book weaves these two notions together by exploring their potential relation-
ship and group work’s affordances for critical-thinking development in particular.

Hong Kong Dennis Chun-Lok Fung

Tim Weijun Liang

v
Contents

1 Has Critical Thinking Been Fruitfully Married to Group

Work in Hong Kong? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 1
1.1 Background: Education Reform and Small-Class Teaching
Policy in Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 1
1.2 Curriculum Development in Primary and Secondary
Schools in Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 2
1.3 Scenario of General Studies and Liberal Studies . . . . . . . . . .... 3
1.4 Paradigm Shift: Group Work as a New Pedagogical
Approach in Hong Kong Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 4
1.5 The Buzzword of ‘Critical Thinking’ and the Present Study .... 6
1.6 Significance and Urgency of Bridging Critical Thinking
and Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 7
2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian
Heritage Culture: What Does a Thematic Review Tell Us? . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Review of Collaborative Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.1 The Nature of Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.2 The Theoretical Roots of Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.3 Study of Group Work in Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.4 Knowledge Gap and Proposed Research Questions . . . . . 16
2.2 Review of Critical-Thinking Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1 Definition of Critical Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.2 Teaching of Critical Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.3 Critical Thinking in Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2.4 Approaches to Teaching Critical Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

vii
viii Contents

2.3 Review of the Influence of Confucian Heritage Culture

on Classroom Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 22
2.3.1 Conceptualisation of Learning in Confucian Heritage
Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 22
2.3.2 The Use of Group Work in Confucian Heritage
Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 23
2.3.3 Learners from Confucian Heritage Cultures . . . . . . . . ... 24
2.3.4 Problematising Cultural Influences on Student
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.4 Conceptual Framework and the Present Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.1 Teaching Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.2 Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3 Research Design: A Mixed Methods Approach with
a Three-Theme Investigation and Pedagogical Intervention . . . . . . . 35
3.1 Statement and Significance of the Research Questions . . . . . . . . 35
3.2 Research Design Underpinnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.1 Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.2 Epistemology and Theoretical Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.3 Research Design and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3.1 Research Design: Three-Theme Investigation . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3.2 Methodology: Mixed Methods Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.4 Quasi-experimental Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.5 Teaching Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.6 Research Domains, Methods and Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.6.1 Theme 1: Effectiveness in Students’ Academic
Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 46
3.6.2 Theme 2: Effectiveness in Students’ Attitudinal
Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 48
3.6.3 Theme 3: Influence of Chinese Culture
on Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.7 Training Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.8 Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.9 Main Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.9.1 Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.9.2 Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.9.3 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.10 Ethical Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Contents ix

4 How Effective Is Group Work in Improving Students’

Academic Performance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 69
4.1 TCTS-PS in the Main Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 69
4.2 Students’ Dialogue and Interaction in the Liberal Studies
Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2.1 Interrater Reliability of Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2.2 Results of Students’ Dialogue and Interaction . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.3 Analysis of the Students’ Written Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
5 How Effective Is Group Work in Improving the Attitudinal
Aspects of Student Learning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.1 Results of Critical-Thinking Dispositions in the Main Study . . . . 103
5.1.1 Results for CCTDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.1.2 Results of the Questionnaire-Based Survey . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.2 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
6 How Does Chinese Culture Exert an Influence on Group
Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.1 ‘Chinese Ground Rules’ Governing Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
6.2 Results of In-Depth Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
6.2.1 Interviews with Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
6.2.2 Interviews with Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
6.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7 Summary, Concluding Remarks and the Way Forward . . . . . . . . . . 153
7.1 Summary of the Reported Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
7.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
7.2.1 Hypothesis One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
7.2.2 Hypothesis Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
7.2.3 Hypothesis Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
7.2.4 Hypothesis Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
7.2.5 Cultural Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
7.3 Implications for Teaching Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
7.4 Validity, Reliability and Research Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
7.5 Recommendations for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Chapter 1
Has Critical Thinking Been Fruitfully
Married to Group Work in Hong Kong?

Abstract This chapter comprises six sections. It begins with a description of the
education reform implemented in Hong Kong in the early 2000s, in which group
work was suggested to play a significant role in classroom instruction. The second
section traces the developmental trajectory of the Hong Kong school curriculum, as
illustrated by the emergence of General Studies and Liberal Studies in primary and
secondary schools. The third section describes the two subjects’ curriculum frame-
works and intended goals, which highlight the importance of both group work and
critical thinking. The fourth section provides an overview of the controversial issues
surrounding critical thinking and how the research reported herein addressed them.
The fifth section argues that group work has the potential to accelerate the paradigm
shift from a teacher-centred to student-oriented approach. Finally, the concluding sec-
tions (i.e. Sects. 1.5 and 1.6) emphasise that this book constitutes a timely response
to the call for scholarship examining the potential relationship between group work
and critical thinking.

1.1 Background: Education Reform and Small-Class

Teaching Policy in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has undergone substantial political and economic changes in recent
decades, accompanied by a series of transformations in many sectors. In con-
templating the educational landscape since the beginning of the twenty-first cen-
tury, the educational initiative outlined in the policy document entitled Learning to
Learn—The Way Forward in Curriculum Development (Curriculum Development
Council (CDC) 2001) offers a blueprint for curricular reform in Hong Kong schools.
One of its visions is the enhancement of students’ classroom participation through a
wide range of teaching strategies (e.g. self-directed and cooperative learning activ-
ities) (Tsai 2003). However, although several studies (e.g. Fung and Howe 2012;
Keppell and Carless 2006) have demonstrated the increased use of collaborative
group work in classrooms since the launch of the reform, that use is fraught with
pragmatic challenges, and group work’s potential for improving teaching and learn-

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 1

D. C.-L. Fung and T. W. Liang, Fostering Critical Thinking Through
Collaborative Group Work, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2411-6_1
2 1 Has Critical Thinking Been Fruitfully Married to Group …

ing is yet to be completely realised. For instance, a common phenomenon observed

and problematised in Galton and Pell’s (2009) study was particular students dominat-
ing group activities while others remained off-task. Hence, there is a pressing need
for educational scholars and teachers to address the potential under-exploitation of
group work.
Against the aforementioned backdrop and in response to the declining student pop-
ulation in recent decades, the Education Bureau (EDB) introduced the Small-Class
Teaching policy as a measure to reduce class sizes, and thereby improve teacher–s-
tudent ratios, in 2009 (EDB 2009). The policy allowed public sector primary schools
to decrease their class size from the existing 32–35 students to 25, with the dual aims
of tackling the challenges of insufficient student enrolment and enhancing teach-
ing and learning quality. To fully capitalise on the advantages of the Small-Class
Teaching environment, it is recommended that teachers follow the six key principles
proposed by Galton and Pell (2009), for example, ‘Increasing pupil participation’
and ‘Developing a spirit of cooperation between pupils through the use of group and
pair work’ (p. 5). Accordingly, the promotion of greater group work use has attracted
considerable attention and been accorded high priority in the Hong Kong education
reform agenda (Fung and Howe 2014) (see Chap. 2 for a more detailed discussion).

1.2 Curriculum Development in Primary and Secondary

Schools in Hong Kong

One noteworthy curriculum development in primary education is the introduction

of General Studies. The CDC developed the General Studies for Primary Schools
Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 to 6) in 2002 to revamp the subject’s curriculum
framework, which was established in 1996. Since then, the guide has been periodi-
cally updated to meet students’ needs (e.g. information technology competency and
critical-thinking strategies) and respond to societal changes, with the most up-to-date
version launched in 2011 (CDC 2011). At the same time, curriculum development
has also occurred in secondary education. For example, the EDB initiated the recon-
struction of secondary education in Hong Kong in 2009 to combat rote learning and
enhance students’ learning motivation, resulting in the development and implemen-
tation of the New Senior Secondary (NSS) academic structure. More specifically,
Hong Kong’s previous academic structure, which comprised five-year Certificate
Level education followed by two-year Advanced Level education and a three-year
university programme, has now been transformed into six years of secondary educa-
tion followed by four years of university education. Accompanying this secondary
education reform, a revamped Liberal Studies curriculum has been introduced for
mandatory study in 2009 (Fung and Yip 2010).
1.3 Scenario of General Studies and Liberal Studies 3

1.3 Scenario of General Studies and Liberal Studies

As mentioned above, in line with the recommendations outlined in Education Com-

mission Report No. 4, the General Studies curriculum was initially established in
1996 (CDC 2011). The revised curriculum guide was published in 2002 in accor-
dance with the curriculum reform that took place in the early 2000s. In particular,
the revised curriculum trimmed and reorganised the subject’s content to afford stu-
dents and teachers more curriculum space and to improve the relevance of learning
to students’ daily lives. Teachers are encouraged to adopt an enquiry-based approach
to enhance students’ ability to learn how to learn. In general, the curriculum guide
incorporates an open and flexible central framework (see Table 1.1) and sets out the
learning objectives that students are to achieve in terms of generic skills, subject
knowledge, as well as positive values and attitudes under six strands: (1) Health
and Living; (2) People and Environment; (3) Science and Technology in Everyday
Life; (4) Community and Citizenship; (5) National Identity and Chinese Culture; and
(6) Global Understanding and the Information Era. The aim is to offer students a
connected rather than compartmentalised learning experience, help them to develop
a holistic understanding of Hong Kong society and the world, as well as arouse their
awareness of the interaction between people and the environment. It is noteworthy
that in the updated guide, General Studies is envisaged as a vehicle for developing
students’ generic skills (e.g. collaboration skills, critical-thinking skills, information
technology skills), which are fundamental to the cultivation of lifelong learning.
Of these generic skills, ‘collaboration skills’ and ‘critical-thinking skills’ have been
positioned as essential capacities to be developed through diversified investigation
and group activities.
Turning to the Liberal Studies curriculum, it was initially introduced in 1992. The
intended goal of its initial introduction was to promote students’ social awareness
with respect to the scheduled transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) government. However, the subject struggled to gain accep-
tance and popularity amongst students, partly because of its non-statutory status
(Cheng et al. 2002). In spite of the subject’s unpromising debut, it was reintroduced
by the Education and Manpower Bureau (the former incarnation of the EDB) as a
mandatory subject (CDC/HKEAA 2007) in the NSS academic structure in 2009.
With respect to the curriculum content of Liberal Studies (CDC/HKEAA 2007; also
see Table 1.2), the education authority suggested three fields of study in relation to
‘Self and Personal Development’, ‘Society and Culture’ and ‘Science, Technology
and the Environment’. These three fields comprise six modules: (1) Personal Devel-
opment and Interpersonal Relationships; (2) Hong Kong Today; (3) Modern China;
(4) Globalisation; (5) Public Health; and (6) Energy, Technology and the Environ-
ment. Apart from these core modules, an Independent Enquiry Study (IES) project
is mandatory for students to complete within two years, which aims to develop them
into autonomous learners.
According to the revamped curriculum, students can choose their IES project
titles from six themes: (1) Media, (2) Education, (3) Religion, (4) Sport, (5) Art, and
4 1 Has Critical Thinking Been Fruitfully Married to Group …

Table 1.1 General Studies curriculum in Hong Kong primary schools

Areas of study
Strand 1: Health and living
Strand 2: People and environment
Strand 3: Science and technology in everyday
life
Strand 4: Community and citizenship
Strand 5: National identity and Chinese culture
Strand 6: Global understanding and the
information era
Curriculum development
This curriculum guide is prepared by the CDC
to set the direction of curriculum development
for the learning and teaching of GS from
Primary 1 to Primary 6. It provides a central
curriculum in the form of an open and flexible
framework with learning targets and
objectives, and essential contents. It sets out
what schools should do to help learners
develop under the six strands in terms of:
• Subject knowledge
• Generic skills
• Positive values and attitudes

Curriculum aims
(a) Maintain a healthy personal development and become confident, rational and responsible
citizens
(b) Recognise their roles and responsibilities as members of the family and
(c) Develop a sense of national identity and be committed to contributing to the nation and the
world
(d) Develop curiosity and interest in the natural and technological world as well as understand
the impact of science and technology on society
(e) Develop a care and concern for the environment
Source https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/kla/general-studies-for-pri
mary/gs_p_guide-eng_300dpi-final%20version.pdf

(6) Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In its entirety, Liberal Stud-
ies consisting of the above core modules in the humanities is comparable to Liberal
Arts or General Education in the West. In fact, the subject’s underlying ideology, as
contemplated by the curriculum designers, is the need to supply learners with rig-
orous training in problem-solving capabilities through the practice of collaborative
learning and reasoned justification. Unsurprisingly, to achieve the goal of promot-
ing collaboration and thinking skills amongst students, Liberal Studies teachers are
highly motivated to incorporate group work activities in their lessons (Fung and
Howe 2012).

1.4 Paradigm Shift: Group Work as a New Pedagogical

Approach in Hong Kong Classrooms

Against the backdrop of Hong Kong’s education reform and Small-Class Teaching
policy, both the revised General Studies and Liberal Studies curricula are playing a
critical role in the development of students’ critical thinking through group work.
As Law (2003) anticipated, the result has been a dramatic pedagogical shift from the
1.4 Paradigm Shift: Group Work as a New Pedagogical Approach … 5

Table 1.2 Liberal Studies curriculum in Hong Kong secondary schools

Areas of study Independent Enquiry Study (IES)
Self- and personal development Students are required to conduct an IES
• Module 1: Personal development and making use of the knowledge and perspectives
interpersonal relationships gained from the three areas of study and
Society and culture extending them to new issues
• Module 2: Hong Kong today To help students develop their IES titles, the
• Module 3: Modern China following themes are suggested:
• Module 4: Globalisation • Media
Science, technology and the environment • Education
• Module 5: Public health • Religion
• Module 6: Energy, technology and the • Sports
environment • Art
• Information and Communication
Technology (ICT)
Curriculum aims
(a) To enable students to develop multiple perspectives on perennial and contemporary issues
in different contexts (e.g. cultural, social, political and technological contexts)
(b) To help students become independent thinkers so that they can construct knowledge
appropriate to changing personal and social circumstances
(c) To develop in students a range of skills for lifelong learning, including critical thinking
skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills and information technology skills
Additional resources
(a) Additional teachers will be provided to Liberal Studies for reducing class sizes
(b) Additional 35 h training will be provided to the in-service teachers in Liberal Studies
Source Curriculum Development Council (CDC) and Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment
Authority (HKEAA), Hong Kong (2007)

traditional Chinese paradigm of passive learning to the modern Western strategy of

collaborative learning. Regarding the educational benefits of group work, research
has shown it to have the potential to become a pedagogical solution to the cultivation
of critical thinking. For example, Galton et al. (2009) found group work involving
problem-solving activities to be more effective than whole-class teaching in improv-
ing 11- to 14-year-old students’ academic performance and classroom behaviour.
Galton et al. (2009) further highlighted the effectiveness of group work in sustaining
higher cognitive-level discussions in comparison with whole-class instruction. Fur-
thermore, Kutnick et al. (2008) reported robust findings demonstrating the positive
effects of group work on learning achievement and attitudinal change. In their study,
the academic performance, group work motivation and on-task focus of children
taught through effective group work strategies improved to a greater degree than those
of their counterparts in control classes. In a similar vein, Pell et al. (2007) found that
employing group work in classrooms helped students (aged 11–14) to attain better
academic achievement and develop more positive attitudes towards science learning.
In sum, based on these results, it is reasonable to believe that, in conjunction with
the ongoing paradigm shift from an examination-oriented to student self-directed
6 1 Has Critical Thinking Been Fruitfully Married to Group …

approach (Biggs 1996; Kennedy 2002), group work can be meaningfully integrated
into practitioners’ pedagogical repertoire in the classrooms in Hong Kong.

1.5 The Buzzword of ‘Critical Thinking’ and the Present

Study

Critical thinking has become increasingly popular in the educational arena, as evi-
denced by the thinking programmes developed for students at various levels in
numerous countries worldwide, such as Matthew Lipman’s Philosophy for Children
(Lipman 1991), the Talk, Reasoning, and Computers programme (Mercer et al. 1999)
and the Cognitive Research Trust Thinking programme (De Bono 1987). Critical
thinking has also become an important part of the global research agenda, with a large
body of literature emphasising its importance to education (e.g. Atkinson 1997; Fung
2014; McBride et al. 2002; Tiwari et al. 2003). Despite the prevailing consensus on
that importance, however, several questions surrounding the critical-thinking concept
remain open to debate, such as how best to conceptualise and evaluate critical think-
ing, whether it is teachable and, if so, what the most effective instructional practices
are. In response to these questions, and against the backdrop of both General Studies
and Liberal Studies purporting to accentuate the development of students’ critical
thinking in Hong Kong, the research reported in this book involved teaching interven-
tions in which students were trained to think critically through a series of group work
activities. Although there is a large pool of scholarship suggesting different ways of
conceptualising and operationalising critical thinking, the present research adopted
Kuhn’s (1991) definition and model of critical thinking (see Chap. 2 for elaboration).
Explicit critical-thinking instruction was delivered to primary and secondary school
students. To determine whether students had achieved gains in critical thinking after
that instruction, pre- and post-tests of critical thinking were administered. It is worth
noting that this research sought to examine both the academic and attitudinal facets
of such thinking, which constitutes a pioneering approach in Hong Kong and even in
the broader context. Whilst much international literature highlights the significance
of dispositions in critical thinking enhancement, few studies have evaluated the atti-
tudinal changes brought about by a teaching intervention. Moreover, informed by its
findings from both primary and secondary classrooms, this research has a number
of pedagogical implications for helping teachers to translate the curriculum goal of
nurturing critical thinkers into classroom practice.
1.6 Significance and Urgency of Bridging Critical Thinking and Group Work 7

1.6 Significance and Urgency of Bridging Critical Thinking

and Group Work

As noted in previous sections, the concepts of critical thinking and group work have
drawn considerable research attention. However, there is a dearth of studies inter-
rogating the potential connection between them, particularly in the context of Hong
Kong primary and secondary schools, although research suggests that the two con-
cepts are often intertwined in practice. For example, Tiwari et al. (2006) indicated
that group work in problem-based learning in the context of medical education in
Hong Kong has the potential to facilitate critical thinking by encouraging students
to analyse problems, initiate suitable investigations and synthesise new knowledge.
However, there is little literature speaking to the specific scenarios of General Stud-
ies and Liberal Studies. Research endeavours in this area are thus significant and
urgent for the following reasons. First, although group work has been promoted as
an important teaching strategy in Hong Kong schools for several years, many teach-
ers still perceive it as mere ‘group basis’ teaching, whereby students are in effect
led by teachers in learning (Fung 2014). The so-called group work that results from
such a perception exhibits little pedagogical difference from traditional whole-class
instruction (Dimmock and Walker 1998). Second, critical-thinking training for stu-
dents at the primary and secondary levels has received scant attention in the past
three decades because, under the influence of Confucian philosophy, the Hong Kong
education system remains primarily examination-oriented (Carless 2011; Chen and
Wong 2015; Watkins 2009). The result is that more often than not, the curriculum
goal of fostering students’ critical thinking gives way to drilling for examinations.
Indeed, memorisation and rote learning enjoy a superior status in Chinese study cul-
ture (Kennedy 2002; Sit 2013). The rote-learner has even become a stereotype of the
typical Chinese learner. Such a culture is thought to have hindered students’ develop-
ment of critical thinking. Again, does group work provide a potential way out of the
critical thinking dilemma? Finally, from the perspective of school implementation,
despite group work and critical thinking being emphasised as important educational
goals in Hong Kong in recent years, their potential remains comparatively unrealised
in school practice, and is far from being maximised. As a result, this book offers a
productive examination of the two notions and explores how group work can be
employed to facilitate the development of critical thinking in Hong Kong primary
and secondary school students.

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Chapter 2
The Research on Group Work, Critical
Thinking and Confucian Heritage
Culture: What Does a Thematic Review
Tell Us?

Abstract Group work and critical thinking are well-established areas of study in
educational research. Given the abundance of academic publications dealing with
these two independent domains, it is not possible to adequately review and sum-
marise all of the work pertaining to them here. Thus, this chapter constitutes an
exploratory study (Robson in Real world research: a resource for social scientists and
practitioner–researchers. Blackwell publishers, UK, 2002) of the existing literature
through the employment of a thematic review strategy, a useful strategy for organis-
ing various empirical studies on the two research topics and for interrogating those
studies with regard to the research questions they pose. This review is divided into five
sections. Following this brief introduction, the next section seeks an understanding
of the group work concept and its effectiveness in student learning. Relevant arti-
cles are assembled, and their results subjected to rigorous analysis. The third section
then shifts focus on the concept of critical thinking, with particular emphasis on a
review of several developmental models, including those of Ennis (Educ Leadersh
43:44–48, 1985) and Kuhn (The skills of argument. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1991). The fourth section examines the influence of Confucian Heritage
Culture (CHC) on classroom learning, as cultural considerations represent a signifi-
cant component of the research reported herein. Finally, the fifth section explicates
and justifies the conceptual framework of that research.

2.1 Review of Collaborative Group Work

2.1.1 The Nature of Group Work

The terms ‘group work’ and ‘cooperative learning’ (or ‘collaborative learning’) are
not new in educational research. Historically, considerable research attention has
been devoted over the years to the well-established concept of working together in
the field of instructional science (Totten et al. 1991). The concepts of cooperative
learning and group work emerged in the first century when Roman rhetorician Marcus
Fabius Quintilian (ca. 35–100) contended that learners derive benefit from instructing

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 11

D. C.-L. Fung and T. W. Liang, Fostering Critical Thinking Through
Collaborative Group Work, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2411-6_2
12 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

one another (Leicester et al. 2000). Another Roman philosopher, Seneca (3 BC–65
AD), promoted a similar practice in the phrase qui docet discit, meaning ‘He who
teaches learns.’ Indeed, Seneca defended the idea that children can learn better from
older students than from the teacher. Centuries later, building upon these two theoret-
ical perspectives, renowned Czech educator Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1679)
posited that students benefit from both instructing others and being instructed, and
proposed that a student who has learned about a topic is able to teach it.
With regard to the definition of ‘group work’, the term ‘group’, according to Brown
(1988), is employed when ‘two or more people define themselves as members [of a
group] and when its existence is recognised by at least one other’ (pp. 2–3). Based
on this conceptualisation, Galton and Williamson (1992) suggested that the perfect
situation of working in groups ‘involves common tasks but individual assignments’
(p. 11). As research progressed, scholars identified a variety of features that may
have a strong relationship with effective group work. For instance, Mercer (1996)
contended that ‘ground rules’ should be formulated to promote students’ genuine
talk when working in groups in the classroom. In addition, such essential elements
of group work as ‘balance of ownership and control of the work towards students
themselves’ and ‘involv[ing] children as colearners’ were acknowledged by Zajac
and Hartup (1997).
In order to characterise the strategy of cooperative group work in a precise fash-
ion, Johnson and Johnson (1985) identified five elements that are crucial for the
occurrence of truly cooperative learning: ‘positive interdependence’, ‘individual
accountability’, ‘interpersonal skills’, ‘face-to-face interaction’ and ‘group process-
ing.’ Amongst these essential ‘ingredients,’ Jolliffe (2007) asserted that ‘individual
accountability’ is particularly important, since it reflects the students’ responsibil-
ity for following instructions, staying on task and elaborating on ideas. In the last
20 years, the two strands of working in groups, ‘collaborative’ and ‘cooperative’
group work, have been differentiated although they have also often been used inter-
changeably. Cooperative group work refers to individual learners working together to
accomplish individual objectives, whilst collaborative group work involves learners
undertaking a shared task with the aim of fulfilling a shared objective (Antil et al.
1998). In fact, the concept of cooperative group work was more prevalent than its
counterpart of collaborative learning regarding classroom organisation in the 2000s
(Watkins et al. 2007).
As Shaw (1981) pointed out, there is no single definition of group work that is
generally accepted. Some authors focus their attention on the different characteris-
tics of groups, whilst others emphasise only one or a few aspects out of the many.
Nevertheless, although the terms used to denote group work vary considerably, it
is argued that there is a strong consensus that group work should embrace certain
educational beliefs and personal values. A relatively global and encompassing per-
spective on group work should include (a) students’ engagement with designated task
(Galton and Williamson 1992), (b) students’ ownership and responsibility (Jolliffe
2007; Mercer 1996; Zajac and Hartup 1997) and (c) grouping strategy (Johnson and
Johnson 1985).
2.1 Review of Collaborative Group Work 13

2.1.2 The Theoretical Roots of Group Work

In Judgment and Reasoning in the Child, Piaget (1928) highlighted the importance
of internal conflict in supporting conceptual development whilst being in favour of
constructivism in children’s learning processes. Specifically, this constructivist view
of learning argued that a child gains knowledge through assimilation and accommo-
dation which complement each other and jointly contribute to the general process
of equilibration. In psychological terms, an individual collects, filters, absorbs and
converts information into a frame of reference which refers to an internal set of
beliefs based on which a child interprets and judges things. Piaget (1932) further
suggested that internal conflict plays a crucial role in cognitive growth, but empha-
sised the potential influence of peer interaction on provoking such conflict. More
than two decades later, Piaget (1959) still highlighted the significance of learners’
engagement in social communication and activities in which they are cognitively
challenged through the provision of clarification and justification and application
of joint reasoning. Such cognitive activities tend to occur during collaborative dis-
cussion, and the joint argumentation process is regarded as a possible explanation
for how group work can contribute to the development of conceptual understanding.
As a summary of Piaget’s psychological theories concerning group work, research
evidence (e.g. Wood and O’Malley 1996) has indicated that it is crucial for children
to recognise and thereby exchange cognitive perspectives with one another so as to
stimulate their cognitive growth, which can be mediated by group debate or more
generally, collaborative activities.
Vygotsky (1978) proposed another theory to explicate the linkage between group
work and the development of cognitive functioning. He contended that low-achievers
can learn from their higher-ability peers, and that such learning can be realised
through the employment of group work strategies in educational settings. Vygotsky
believed that knowledge is socially constructed and that a discrepancy may exist
between independent and collective problem-solving, leading him to introduce the
concept of the ‘zone of proximal development’ (ZPD). Specifically, he defined this
zone as the distance between what individuals can accomplish on their own and what
they can achieve under the guidance of more knowledgeable and capable individuals.
Echoing this view, Rogoff (1990) and Wood (1998) maintained that an individual
can make progress with assistance provided by either adults or more skilled partners.
From a theoretical point of view, Vygotsky (1978) argued that knowledge is socially
constructed through joint problem-solving efforts. His model embodies social con-
structivism, which claims that expert guidance plays an important role in helping
learners to achieve cognitive gains. The theory is supported by Harlen and Qualter’s
(2004) findings showing that expert guidance can be provided by more capable peers
during group activities in the context of primary science classrooms.
14 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

2.1.3 Study of Group Work in Hong Kong

There is a paucity of research on group work in Hong Kong relative to Western

countries, according to Sweeting (1999), who suggests that more often than not, Hong
Kong researchers find it onerous to identify institutions available for investigation,
particularly secondary schools. Similar to the UK, this may be due to the heavy duties
and pressure on teachers in Hong Kong who cannot spare the time to participate
in research projects. However, although this difficulty has limited the researchers’
motivation, there are still a few studies, including a valuable piece of research by
Chan and Galton (1999), relating to the attitudes of teachers and students regarding
cooperative group work in Hong Kong schools.
Specifically, by conducting a questionnaire-based survey and interview in an ele-
mentary school, Chan and Galton’s (1999) research design was to collect data from
teachers and students on the frequency of using classroom organisational strategies
in core subjects. Their project was situated within an investigation of the basis of
grouping for small-group discussion and the factors that might influence teachers’
decisions to use various classroom strategies. Interestingly, the research required
students to respond in writing to a pair of cartoon pictures, discussing what they
thought about a group of depicted children, completing the task with and without the
teacher’s presence. Whilst the results indicated that the teachers’ attitudes towards
group work were generally positive, the teachers had reservations about using group
work because of school constraints, including large class sizes and limited time in the
teaching schedules. With regard to the students’ perspective, their drawings showed
preferences towards participating in group work in primary school classrooms.
In addition to Chan and Galton (1999), there are several local publications dealing
with group work in Hong Kong. A study carried out by Tam (2001), who investigated
the case of a primary school teacher’s use of group work in General Studies lessons,
echoed Chan and Galton’s conclusion. In an analysis of group processing, Tam iden-
tified the role of assessment in group work as the main pillar that sustains the concept
of student-centred learning. The role of the teacher as an effective assessor ensures
that each student gives and receives feedback on group activities. Turning to teacher
training, she challenged school principals and administrators to become members of
a professional support group in the school in order to guide teachers in learning how
to use cooperative learning procedures successfully. Based on the evidence obtained
from an Asia-Pacific Forum, Wong (2001) analysed group work practice in science
education in Hong Kong, and confirmed it to exert positive effects on student learn-
ing by empowering teachers to cater for individual differences. In catering for such
differences, he urged teachers to strengthen their capacity to integrate the teaching
of generic skills into the implementation of group work.
Turning to scholarly work conducted more recently, Galton and Pell’s (2009)
seminal report on the implementation of Small-Class Teaching in Hong Kong primary
schools emphasised the importance of using group work strategies to engage students
in learning and enhance their learning outcomes. Of the six principles of Small-Class
Teaching they proposed, one stresses the development of ‘a spirit of cooperation
2.1 Review of Collaborative Group Work 15

between pupils through the use of group and pair work’ (p. 5). To maximise the
potential of group work, students should be trained and taught how to formulate
rules for working collaboratively, maintain group activities and reach conclusions
based on group consensus (Kutnick et al. 2005). Students should also be provided
with ample opportunities to reflect on the group work process to identify areas for
improvement in future. Because group work entails a pedagogical shift in Hong Kong
primary education, Galton and Pell’s (2009) report unsurprisingly also revealed that
some schools experienced difficulties using group work effectively, as evidenced by
some students’ dominance in groups whilst others remained off task.
A growing number of empirical studies on collaborative/cooperative group work
in Hong Kong have appeared since the publication of Galton and Pell’s seminal work.
For instance, Law (2011) adopted a quasi-experimental research design to examine
the effects of cooperative group work (i.e. jigsaw and drama) on the learning out-
comes, study motivation and reading capacity of 279 Hong Kong fifth graders. The
students in the jigsaw group were found to exhibit better performance on a reading
comprehension test than their counterparts in either the drama group or the control
group receiving traditional teacher-led instruction. The study further showed group
work with well-planned teacher guidance to be particularly helpful in promoting
student learning compared with student-directed group work. In addition, Chu et al.
(2011) revealed the use of inquiry-based group projects in Hong Kong primary class-
rooms to exert a positive impact on students’ development of information literary
and information technology skills. More specifically, the group projects considered
were contextualised in Primary Four General Studies lessons, and the pupils needed
to collaborate in groups of five to six on a topic of their own choosing. They needed
to search online for information on that topic and then compile a written report on
their findings in a collaborative manner.
More recently, Galton et al. (2015) contended that it is necessary to establish
rules (i.e. group rules) to sustain successful group work. They analysed an extract
of classroom interactions to demonstrate how group rules can help pupils to reach a
consensual view in group discussions in Hong Kong classrooms. In addition to group
rules, Chan (2016) highlighted the importance of developing students’ social skills
when working together in groups to capitalise on the class size reductions in Hong
Kong. Whilst cognitive conflict is crucial for cognitive growth (Johnson and Johnson
1999a), it can lead to quarrels and confrontations when disagreements arise during
group discussions. Therefore, students need to acquire social skills to avoid potential
conflicts and facilitate group interaction. In similar fashion, the quasi-experimental
study carried out by Kutnick et al. (2017) in a Hong Kong primary school to examine
the effects of a relational approach to group work also emphasised the importance
of building trust and harmony through interpersonal skills for pupils’ mathematical
achievement. The research participants included 20 teachers and 504 pupils aged
9–10. Significant improvements were seen in the latter’s academic achievement after
more than seven months of using the relational approach to group work. Those
improvements can be attributed to the pupils’ enhanced communication skills, and
thus higher-quality interactions amongst themselves and with teachers.
16 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

2.1.4 Knowledge Gap and Proposed Research Questions

As noted in the previous sections, most scholars focus on establishing crucial links
between group work and its benefits for student learning. To obtain sufficient justifi-
cation, they ground their arguments on the advantages of group work with reference to
one or both of Piaget (1932) and Vygotsky (1978) with regard to children’s cognitive
development. Despite the strength of the preceding literature, certain neglected areas
of group work exist, which could provide insightful implications for the potential
research questions and methodologies.
In the first place, amongst the literature included in the review, there is much
that is related to English, mathematics and science, but very little research has been
done in Liberal Education or Liberal Arts. Research with students aged 10–12 and
15–17 years is also sparse compared to that of other age groups. ‘Will students benefit
from working in groups in General Studies or Liberal Studies?’ and ‘What are the
effects of the key strategies of group work for students in that particular age groups?’
are two questions warranting investigation. In addition, the investigation of group
work in the Hong Kong context remains limited. Little has been said about group
work in secondary schools although some studies conducted in the context of primary
education have been published. There is also a lack of empirical studies inquiring
into the influence of the Chinese culture on group work. Hence, the question ‘What
are the effects of Chinese traditional culture on the incorporation of group work into
Hong Kong primary and secondary schools?’ would be worthy of notice. Based on
the knowledge gap, three preliminary research questions are proposed to guide the
research:
1. What is the effectiveness of group work in acquiring critical-thinking skills in
Hong Kong primary and secondary schools?
2. What are the effects of group work strategies on primary and secondary students’
learning motivation in Hong Kong?
3. What is the influence of the Chinese traditional culture on the incorporation of
group work in Hong Kong primary and secondary classrooms?

2.2 Review of Critical-Thinking Learning

2.2.1 Definition of Critical Thinking

Historically, the idea of ‘thinking and reasoning’ can be dated to Aristotle’s

time. Aristotle concluded that ‘recall’ and ‘thinking’ involve a series of thoughts
(Ericsson and Hastie 1994). In a larger sense, Aristotle made philosophy coextensive
with ‘reasoning’, which he described as ‘science.’ Building upon these two abstract
concepts, the meaning of critical thinking has been undergoing a transformation in
2.2 Review of Critical-Thinking Learning 17

the last century. This reflects a change of emphasis in the concept of ‘thinking well’
or ‘thinking smarter’ at different periods of time (Bonnett 1995).
McPeck (1981) asserted that critical thinking encompasses the ‘propensity and
skill to engage in an activity with reflective scepticism’ (p. 8). ‘Reflective scepticism’
refers to the willingness to deliberate on alternative perspectives rather than readily
accepting an established argument. McPeck (1981) accentuated the important role
of ‘reflective dispositions’ in his definition of critical thinking, which aligns with
the stance of Perkins et al. (1993) that the inherent character of making inquiries
is indispensable to making arguments. It is worth noting that McPeck’s definition
also involves thinking ‘skills,’ which refer specifically to the ‘thinking techniques’
required in problem-solving. A number of prestigious scholars (e.g. Jones et al. 1995)
have acknowledged skills to be an essential constituent of critical thinking, and it
is widely believed that a more holistic understanding of critical thinking needs to
embrace both skills and dispositions.
Examining the issue through a psychological lens, Mayer and Goodchild (1990)
defined critical thinking as ‘an active and systematic attempt to understand and eval-
uate arguments’ (p. 4). Building on that definition, Levy (1997) then defined the
concept as ‘an active and systematic cognitive strategy to examine, evaluate, and
understand events, solve problems, and make decisions on the basis of sound reason-
ing and valid evidence’ (p. 1). Concurring with McPeck’s (1981) opinion that skills
and dispositions constitute two major dimensions of critical thinking, Kuhn (1991)
offered an alternative, more accurate, definition, defining critical thinking as one type
of ‘reasoned argument.’ Her definition added a psychological dimension, conceptu-
alising dispositions as the desire to substantiate one’s arguments with evidence, and
skills as the employment of cognitive techniques to reach a desirable conclusion.
The foregoing review of the literature on critical thinking demonstrates that whilst
much of the work towards reaching a consensus about the term ‘critical thinking’
has been accomplished, nevertheless, a range of views still exists in the literature.
All in all, it is thought that cognitive ‘skills’ are essential to a critical thinker. The
‘critical’ epistemology should include broad ‘dispositions’ for evaluating ‘reasoned
arguments.’ As a result, Kuhn’s (1991) definition of critical thinking as ‘the sense
(or disposition) [and the skills] of reasoned justification of arguments’ is adopted in
this book.

2.2.2 Teaching of Critical Thinking

A thematic review of the teaching of critical thinking reveals that there are two
kinds of material indicating that critical thinking can be taught through appropriate
instruction. One category is ‘research-based evidence’ and the other is ‘theoretical
argument,’ which will be interrogated sequentially as follows.
As early as the 1930s, evidence showing that critical thinking can be taught was
provided by Arnold (1938). Specifically, by targeting fifth- and sixth-grade students,
Arnold demonstrated that they could be taught to recognise bias in a data source or
18 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

to value a disinterested report over a one-sided account. Since then, several reviews
of the impact of explicit instruction on learning critical thinking (e.g. Dressel and
Mayhew 1954; Roberge 1970; Shapiro and O’Brien 1970) have been published.
Whilst the earlier research (i.e. Dressel and Mayhew 1954) noted that children as
young as fourth graders might profit from systematic instruction to improve their
logical thinking, the latter reviews (i.e. Roberge 1970; Shapiro and O’Brien 1970)
reported that students’ gains in critical thinking were positively related to the number
of science courses taken in graduate school. However, a decade later, Winter et al.
(1981) indicated that in addition to the number of courses taken, the interlinkage
amongst those courses is likely to be another contributory factor to learning gains.
Their suggestion is supported by their own research showing students required in
an experimental course to integrate ideas from different disciplines to have achieved
more critical-thinking gains than their counterparts in regular courses. Approaching
the twenty-first century, studies such as those of Lehman and Nisbett (1990) and Pike
(1996) provide examples of how college students can readily transfer critical-thinking
skills acquired in class to real-world situations. In general, it is believed that this sort
of evidence is substantial enough to demonstrate the teachability of critical thinking,
whilst numerous other reports (e.g. Kosonen and Winne 1995; Nisbett 1993; Perkins
and Grotzer 1997) related to the transfer of critical thinking also exist.
Apart from the research-based evidence, the theoretical argument of imposing a
variety of teaching strategies underpins the possible transfer of critical thinking. In
consideration of the definitions of critical thinking (Kuhn 1991; Levy 1997; McPeck
1981), to a certain extent, it comprises the concept of skills. Therefore, like many other
skills, critical thinking is teachable through exercises, training or problem-solving
tasks. In addition, McPeck (1981) proposed that ‘getting people to think critically
may in fact be like getting them to act morally. [It is] suggested that the way to get
people [to act critically] was to provide them with good examples to follow’ (p. 19).
This implied that the learning of critical thinking may be triggered by role models
and could be taught by following examples. To offer additional theoretical rationales,
McGuinness (2005) helps us to understand how cognitive interventions can teach stu-
dents to engage in critical thinking. Based on a review of studies related to the nature
of cognition, she found sufficient evidence to conclude that, given that good thinking
may vary by domain because of differences in structures of knowledge in different
domains, research methods and thinking styles, cognitive interventions should be
domain-specific. However, in view of the potential risk that such interventions may
cultivate thinking that is restrained by a specific discipline, and thus incapable of
being transferred to new contexts, McGuinness (2005) further advocated the devel-
opment of metacognitive skills and strategies to render critical thinking transferable
across subjects. In summary, given the weight of the ‘research-based evidence’ and
‘theoretical argument’ cited above, it seems that the ‘teachability’ of critical thinking
can be taken for granted.
2.2 Review of Critical-Thinking Learning 19

2.2.3 Critical Thinking in Hong Kong

Compared to the studies of group work in Hong Kong, there are a few more studies
concerned with the teaching of critical thinking in secondary schools. The discus-
sion of the relevant literature below draws on the cultural context of Hong Kong
to facilitate readers’ understanding of the opportunities and challenges for critical-
thinking instruction in the local context. Gong (1997), who scrutinised the historical
aspects of the education system in Hong Kong, observed that it has been developed
along the classic British model (no longer used in the UK itself) which relies solely
on examination results to determine students’ academic futures. In particular, Gong
found that students in Hong Kong are stuffed with information from books through
rote learning and memorisation. Such a culture of learning is thought be prevalent
in Hong Kong and other regions and countries influenced by CHC (Subramaniam
2008). It can exert a negative influence on students’ development of critical thinking.
For example, the students are seldom allowed to comment on or question the infor-
mation provided by teachers, and thus are competent at receiving information but
weak at engaging in independent or critical thinking. In order to clear this stumbling-
block to student learning, Gong proposed creating and maintaining a student-centred
learning environment. In particular, he suggested the incorporation of problem-based
learning into the training of critical thinking in Hong Kong ordinary schools.
At the same time, two coherent views emerged from the review of literature (Che
2002; Yee 2004) jointly reflecting the limitations of teaching critical thinking in
Hong Kong schools. Similar to the results relating to group work, Che (2002), who
analysed teacher and student evaluations of critical-thinking projects in a suburban
secondary school, concluded that, despite favourable student responses to critical-
thinking lessons, teachers find it difficult to abandon teacher-centred approaches
because of their inadequate training and classroom time constraints. Moreover, teach-
ers’ reluctance to abandon teacher-centred approaches can also be derived from the
cultural context of Hong Kong. Under the influence of CHC, teachers enjoy a supe-
rior status in the classroom, with students showing great respect for teachers. The
teacher–student relationship is considered to be a hierarchical one (Jin and Cortazzi
2006). With respect to other limitations of critical-thinking instruction, Yee (2004),
who used the case study method to explore the potential influence on critical-thinking
development of engagement in political activities amongst twelfth-grade students in
Hong Kong, found such students to exhibit a strong sense of political powerlessness
that contributed to their apathetic perception of critical thinking to varying degrees.
The work conducted by Lee (2007) and Fairbrother (2003), which illustrates sev-
eral successful strategies for teaching critical thinking, seems to be enlightening
with regard to the above issues. Amongst the four strategies addressed in his study,
Lee (2007) proposed that fostering critical thinking through dispositions nurturance
is an ideal method for inspiring students to think in a multiple-perspective man-
ner. By developing the disposition of being open-minded, students’ thinking will no
longer be egocentric. It not only allows them to consider others’ perspectives, but
also encourages them to share their ideas with their classmates. In fact, the culture
20 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

of sharing can be readily established amongst Hong Kong students as its culture of
collectivism favours working in groups (Li et al. 2014). Hence, Lee insisted that
cultivating students in the habitual use of critical thinking should come first. This
approach falls in line with the strategies advocated by Fairbrother (2003). In partic-
ular, Fairbrother proposed that students should be provided with a chance to reflect
on their own thinking. By doing so, they will be able to understand their thinking
‘discrimination’ or ‘fallacies’, and can strive to improve their thinking techniques.
More recent scholarship on critical thinking in Hong Kong has paid particular
attention to identifying ways to improve students’ critical thinking. For instance, Ku
and Ho (2010) examined the importance of metacognitive strategies to facilitating
critical thinking in ten Hong Kong university students who participated in six thinking
tasks following think-aloud procedures. The findings indicated that such strategies
can indeed facilitate critical thinking and that metacognitive knowledge is crucial
to their application. In terms of specific programmes teaching thinking, Lam (2012)
examined whether the Philosophy for Children (also known as P4C) programme can
help to foster critical thinking in children in the Hong Kong context. In the study, 28
Secondary One students were divided into two groups, one receiving P4C lessons
and the other traditional English lessons. The results showed the students in the
P4C lessons to outperform those in the English lessons in a reasoning test and to
be more proficient at discussing philosophy in class. Lam (2012) concluded that the
P4C programme played a significant role in cultivating critical thinking. In addition,
Chan (2013) examined university students’ perceptions of the potential relationship
between critical thinking and problem-based learning. The results of interviews with
100 students majoring in nursing at a university in Hong Kong revealed the stu-
dents to perceive critical thinking as more indispensable than creativity in solving
certain problem-based tasks. Most also agreed that problem-based learning had con-
tributed to their development of critical thinking. Similar to the research reported
herein, Kong (2014) conducted a study examining the effectiveness of a pedagogical
intervention for developing critical thinking in Hong Kong secondary classrooms.
During the intervention, 107 Secondary One students learned about two topics in
the Integrated Humanities subject with the aid of tablet PCs. The results of pre-
and post-tests showed that the students have realised a significant improvement in
critical-thinking skills as a result of the intervention. Further, the students’ interview
responses revealed them to hold positive perceptions of the effects of the interven-
tion’s pedagogical design (i.e. a digital classroom) on their cultivation of critical
thinking.
Whilst a number of studies have explored the factors contributing to critical-
thinking cultivation, Luk and Lin (2015) were interested in the role played by
language proficiency, suggesting that a lack of such proficiency may well impede
critical-thinking development. They observed the way in which a sample of senior
secondary school students in Hong Kong with a low degree of English proficiency
exhibited critical thinking in their spoken English. Discourse analysis of the stu-
dents’ classroom talk revealed that they expressed their ideas in their mother tongue
(i.e. Cantonese) in a more elaborate manner than they did in their second language
(i.e. English), indicating that students’ level of language proficiency influences their
2.2 Review of Critical-Thinking Learning 21

critical-thinking performance. Luk and Lin (2015) thus called for more research to
address the communicative gaps in critical thinking between one’s first and second
languages.
Another line of inquiry pursued in the relatively recent literature is teachers’ per-
ceptions and practices of teaching critical thinking. For example, Mok (2010) carried
out classroom observations to determine whether junior secondary school teachers
are translating the critical-thinking syllabus developed by the education authority
into classroom practice. The results showed that, owing to institutional constraints
and pressures, these teachers are failing to make critical thinking a learning goal
for their students even though they support the idea of teaching such thinking. Sta-
pleton (2011) conducted in-depth interviews with 72 Hong Kong secondary school
teachers to unpack their perceptions of the meaning of critical thinking, and found
them to have a rather limited understanding of the concept in general. At the same
time, however, they strongly approved of its implementation in senior high school
and expressed a desire for more professional training to enhance their competence
in critical-thinking instruction.

2.2.4 Approaches to Teaching Critical Thinking

This review has so far highlighted some of the issues raised in the debate connecting
the definition and teachability of critical thinking. At first glance, although volumi-
nous research has studied the history, policies and curriculum planning for ‘teaching
critical thinking’ in the last 25 years, limited consideration has been given to its meth-
ods and psychological underpinnings. Nonetheless, a series of studies conducted by
McGuinness (e.g. 1990, 2005) seems to have filled the gap. Therefore, this review
opens with a discussion of McGuinness’ work. Moreover, in echo of the psycholog-
ical concern about student learning raised in this thesis, research that sheds light on
how different teaching approaches influence children’s cognitive development will
also be discussed.
Two categories of teaching approaches, ‘enrichment’ and ‘infusion’ programmes,
for developing thinking are portrayed in the work of McGuinness (2005); indeed,
they have been well-developed and structured in normal classroom environments. In
general, with regard to the planning of school curricula, an ‘enrichment’ approach is
one that is organised in parallel with existing curriculum arrangements. This approach
was initially established as a remedial programme for culturally disadvantaged immi-
grants in Israel after the Second World War to overcome their cognitive deficits
resulting from mediation deprivation, such as an inability to select pertinent cues
and define problems (Feuerstein et al. 1980). In mediated learning sessions, teachers
can make use of many instruments such as those asking students to detect patterns in
space and conduct complex reasoning, thereby engaging students in assessing their
own critical-thinking processes. As Feuerstein et al. (1980) note, this strategy has
a snowballing effect whereby low-ability students can gear up for more complex
learning in a school curriculum.
22 2 The Research on Group Work, Critical Thinking and Confucian …

In contrast to the enrichment approach, programmes in which the cultivation of

critical thinking is integrated into the existing curriculum are typically referred to
as following an ‘infusion’ approach. Specifically, this approach focuses on particu-
lar subjects, such as mathematics, physics and history, or more generally across the
curriculum. The core concept of this approach is to contextualise critical thinking
directly within a curricular area in order to develop students’ reasoning and under-
standing simultaneously. In doing so, course content is infused with the teaching
of specific critical-thinking techniques required by the curriculum. According to
McGuinness (2005), the infusion approach can be further divided into two subcat-
egories by focusing on thinking ‘skills’ or ‘dispositions.’ In particular, the strategy
of ‘focusing on thinking skills’ relies on the assumption that if students are taught
clearly definable critical-thinking skills, after they apply the skills appropriately in
problem-solving situations, they will become more effective thinkers. As a counter-
part to this model, ‘focusing on dispositions’ highlights the characteristics of good
thinking from a broader perspective. It suggests that although good thinkers surely
possess remarkable reasoning skills, their willingness to think well should not be
underestimated; in some cases, the attitudes that they hold are even more important
than their skills.

2.3 Review of the Influence of Confucian Heritage Culture

on Classroom Learning

2.3.1 Conceptualisation of Learning in Confucian Heritage

Cultures

CHC is prevalent in China and in such neighbouring countries as Vietnam, Japan,

Korea and Singapore (Nguyen et al. 2006; Phuong-Mai et al. 2005), as well as in
diasporic Chinese communities worldwide (Kennedy 2016). Asian culture more gen-
erally, and Chinese culture in particular, is considered a typical CHC (Jones 1999). Li
(2003) revealed that students under the influence of CHC tend to conceptualise learn-
ing as the seeking of knowledge and to highlight the connection between knowledge
acquisition and moral development. Chinese students learn not simply for utilitarian
purposes (e.g. to find a decent job) but also for ‘self-perfection’ in terms of moral
cultivation (Yu 1996). Knowledge is envisaged as an integral part of their lives, and
their desire for it requires them to remain humble, pursue lifelong learning and value
diligence and perseverance (Li 2003). Other Confucian values related to teaching
and learning include the perception of learning as a moral duty, greater emphasis on
theoretical than vocational education, viewing effort as more important than ability
and seeing teachers as a model of knowledge and morality (Biggs 1996).
Zhu et al. (2008) employed the Conceptions of Learning Inventory developed
by Purdie and Hattie (2002) to examine Chinese university students’ learning con-
ceptions. Their results showed that most students related learning to understanding,
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