Critical thinking as tacit knowledge

Background.  Over the past decades, critical thinking has become one of the key competencies in education, science, and society. However, despite its recognized significance, the concept remains theoretically vague and conceptually fragmented: the lack of definition is known as both research-related and practical challenge. The diversity of interpretations leads to a situation in which multiple, sometimes incompatible, approaches coexist under the same term. This article proposes an alternative approach by conceptualizing critical thinking as a form of tacit knowledge.

Purpose. To identify implicit interpretations of critical thinking in educational practice based on classroom observation in a university setting.

Materials and methods.  The study was conducted through observation of university classes. The object of observation was a set of courses that explicitly stated the goal of developing the universal competency “The ability to critically analyze problematic situations […]” The analysis focused on specific forms of pedagogical activity that reflect instructors’ assumptions about critical thinking, such as the design of tasks, responses to student errors, and the moderation of classroom discussions.

Results. The main finding of the study is the identification of two fundamentally different approaches to critical thinking: the classical approach, focused on the universal norms of reasoning, and the non-classical approach, emphasizing the ability to engage with alternative perspectives. It was found that participants in the educational process do not strictly adhere to one approach or the other, but rather shift between them depending on the context. Thus, the study demonstrates that the conceptual ambiguity of critical thinking should not be viewed as a weakness or a shortcoming of scientific knowledge, but as a reflection of its complex and context-dependent nature.