Teaching thinking skills in the social studies curriculum of Saudi Arabian secondary schools

This paper examines how effectively thinking skills are being taught in the social studies component in Saudi Arabian secondary schools. Two methods of data collection were employed: (1) classroom observation in which instances of activities which promoted the teaching of thinking skills were recorded, and (2) interviews with the teachers to determine their perceptions of what thinking skills are, how well they believe they succeed in teaching thinking skills, and what factors they believe aid or impede their teaching of thinking skills. The major conclusion is that the social studies teachers were aware of the importance of teaching thinking skills, but were basically unaware of what that teaching involves. A second conclusion is that there are administrative, curricular, textual and extra-textual impediments hindering the teaching of thinking skills in the secondary-level social studies component.