A Critical Missing Element: Critical Thinking at Rwanda's Public Universities and the Implications for Higher Education Reform
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A Critical Missing Element: Critical Thinking at Rwanda’s Public Universities and the Implications for Higher Education Reform Rebecca Schendel Submitted for examination for the degree of PhD in Education & International Development July 2013 Institute of Education, London Abstract In the years since the genocide, the Government of Rwanda has contributed significant financial resources to the re-establishment and development of its public higher education sector. This investment has largely been justified in terms of the contribution of university graduates to the country’s vision of becoming a service-based knowledge economy, capable of reducing its reliance on foreign aid and technical assistance. Implicit in this vision for the future is an assumption that a university education will help students to improve in their ability to think critically about problems and to use evidence when making decisions. This study empirically investigated this assumption by administering a version of the Collegiate Learning Assessment – a performance-task-based test of critical thinking, adapted for use in Rwanda – to a random sample of 220 students enrolled at three of Rwanda’s most prestigious public institutions. Assessment results were supplemented with in-depth case studies at two of the institutions involved in the study. Results of the study suggest that Rwandan students are not significantly improving in their critical thinking ability during their time at university. Critical thinking ability in Rwanda seems to be largely influenced by the academic experiences provided within university Faculties, as the use of innovative classroom practices appears to have a positive impact on the cultivation of critical thinking skills. However, results indicate that such practices cannot be assumed, as faculty motivation and understanding of pedagogical innovations can significantly affect their effective implementation. The international community has largely focused its higher education reform efforts on improvements in institutional efficiency, but the results of this study indicate that student learning outcomes cannot be ignored. Without similar support for initiatives that seek to improve pedagogy, regional revitalisation efforts are unlikely to have a substantial effect on development objectives. 2 Word Count Declaration I confirm that the word length of 1) the thesis, including footnotes, is 97,466 words, 2) the bibliography is 11,001 words, and, 3) the appendices is 24,915 words. Signed .......................................................................................... Date ............................... Candidate 3 Acknowledgements This study would truly not have been possible without the support, collaboration and, at times, hard work of numerous friends, family members and colleagues in Rwanda, London and the U.S. I am particularly grateful to colleagues at NUR, KIST and SFB for allowing me to enter your communities and learn about your worlds. Above all, my thanks go to Dr. Jolly Mazimhaka, Dr. Reid Whitlock, Dr. Bonfils Safari and Dr. Chika Ezeanya for all of your support throughout the process. To the study participants at all three universities, I offer my most heartfelt appreciation. This study would never have happened without your assistance. I am deeply indebted to the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Council in Kigali for supporting this research and for ensuring that the information is passed along to those who will find it useful. I am also profoundly thankful to Michael and to Charles at Generation Rwanda for facilitating my research funding and making this study possible. A seemingly endless supply of volunteers helped at every stage of this project - completing translations, reviewing assessment drafts, scoring assessments, and reading proposals. I am particularly grateful to the students from Generation Rwanda, who offered to field-test and pilot all of the tools used in the study, and to Lambert and Abdul for being ever willing to help with all of the logistical challenges. I am deeply grateful to my supervisors, Andy Tolmie and Moses Oketch, for your belief in me and for all of your assistance along the way. To my superstar research team – Clarisse, Emile, Patricie, Bienvenu, Paulin, Aimé, Eric, Annet and Jean Baptiste – I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your hard work and professionalism at every stage. And, most of all, my love and thanks go to Drew for inspiring me and making all of this possible, to Amy and Emily for endless hours of emotional support, and to my parents, who not only instilled the value of critical thinking in me at a young age but supported me in every sense at every juncture in this journey. Thank you for always being the foundation. 4 Table of Contents List of Tables........................................................................................................................................ 10 List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... 12 List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 1: Research Background ................................................................................................ 14 1.1 Narratives of Declining Quality ........................................................................................ 14 1.1.1 Political influences ......................................................................................................... 15 1.1.2 Financial pressures ........................................................................................................ 17 1.2 Reforms and Revitalisation ............................................................................................... 20 1.2.1 Institutional reforms ..................................................................................................... 21 1.2.2 System-wide reforms ..................................................................................................... 22 1.2.3 A focus on new modes of delivery .............................................................................. 23 1.2.4 Evidence of impact ......................................................................................................... 23 1.3 A Fundamental Gap in the Reform Agenda ................................................................. 25 Chapter 2: Higher Education in Rwanda .................................................................................. 28 2.1 Rwanda as a “Crucial Case” ................................................................................................ 28 2.1.1 A brief history of higher education in Rwanda ..................................................... 28 2.1.2 A unique higher education context ........................................................................... 30 2.1.3 Regional similarities ...................................................................................................... 33 2.2 The Contemporary Context ............................................................................................... 36 2.3 Critical Thinking as an Indicator of Academic Quality ............................................ 38 2.4 Previous Assessments of Critical Thinking in Rwanda ........................................... 40 Chapter 3: Towards a Conceptual Framework ...................................................................... 42 3.1 Defining the Central Construct ......................................................................................... 42 3.1.1 Possible definitions ......................................................................................................... 42 3.1.2 Fundamental debates .................................................................................................... 47 3.1.3 The development of critical thinking ....................................................................... 52 3.1.4 Positioning the study ..................................................................................................... 56 3.2 Assessing Critical Thinking ................................................................................................ 57 3.3 Improving Critical Thinking at University ................................................................... 60 3.3.1 Models of university impact ........................................................................................ 60 3.3.2 Improving critical thinking at university ............................................................... 61 3.4 Factors Associated with Improvement in Critical Thinking ................................. 63 3.4.1 The influence of student and faculty inputs on critical thinking .................... 64 3.4.2 The influence of the institutional environment on critical thinking ............. 69 3.4.3 Student engagement and critical thinking ............................................................ 80 5 3.4.4 The influence of external experiences on critical thinking ............................... 81 3.5 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 82 3.6 Investigating Critical Thinking in Rwanda .................................................................. 83 3.6.1 Culture and critical thinking .....................................................................................