Cultural Inhibition to Developing Critical Thinking Among Learners in Nigerian Schools

Abstract

Excessive influence of culture has been identified as a major hindrance to developing critical thinking among learners in Nigerian schools. In the light of this, the focus of this paper is to advocate the type of education that favours inquisitiveness, probing and exploration which would enhance the fostering of critical thinking among learners in Nigerian schools. This paper is qualitative in nature and philosophical in orientation. It adopted the analytical, the speculative and the prescriptive methods to deal with issues and problems such as culture, inhibition, indoctrination, inquisitiveness, exploration and essentialism in the African context. This paper examines critical thinking as reflective thinking. The paper explains the need to foster critical thinking among learners in Nigerian schools. The study found out that cultural influence is a major inhibition to fostering critical thinking among learners in Nigerian schools. The study reveals that encouraging inquisitiveness, probing and exploration may enhance the fostering of critical thinking in Nigerian schools. The paper concludes that the type of education that controls excessive influence of culture could enhance critical thinking among learners in Nigerian schools, help the students to be self-actualised, and to be fit for the world beyond the classroom.