This dissertation identified and addressed four of the unresolved issues pertaining to the proposition that nonabsolute/ relativistic (N/R) thinking is one of the possible unifying commonalities underlying the selected models of postformal reasoning, namely Problem Finding, Dialectical Reasoning, Relativistic Operations and Reflective Judgment. A total of 254 participants aged 10 to 48 and attending Grade 5 to doctoral studies were involved. Each participant was administered eight tests in pencil-and-paper format to measure eight different constructs of thinking. Different specific hypotheses were evaluated through different statistical approaches. The four identified issues were addressed as follows: Firstly, nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking was reconceptualized and operationally defined as a multidimensional and multilevel construct. Two dimensions were proposed: the basic form and the epistemic view. Within the basic form dimension, two levels were proposed: the formal and the postformal forms. Secondly, a battery of three tests was specifically designed by Arlin and the author to measure the different dimensions and levels of nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking. Thirdly, strong empirical evidence was obtained supporting the general hypothesis that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking is a possible unifying commonality underlying the four selected postformal models. Within the construct of nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking, two dimensions, the basic form and the epistemic view, can be differentiated as hypothesized. Fourthly, empirical evidence was also obtained supporting the general hypothesis that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking is an instance of both formal and postformal reasoning. Specifically within the basic form dimension, two qualitatively different forms, the formal and the postformal, can be differentiated as hypothesized. Findings also suggested that the development of a nonabsolute epistemic view might play a crucial role in the development of the postformal form. Therefore, the emergence of the postformal form can be explained by a paradigm shift from an absolute to a nonabsolute epistemic view. Performances in the tests of the postformal form and of the epistemic view in combination were found to be good predictors of performances in the selected postformal tests. Significant implications of the findings are that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking represents a form of metamorphosis from closed-system to open-system thinking and it might serve as a potential springboard in the development of higher order thinking. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

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Submitted in fulfilmentnof the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Philosophy of Education at the University of Zululand, 2002. / This study advocates to examine the efficacy of values clarification with particular reference to its impact on critical thinking and effective communication for secondary school learners. The capability of discerning and focussing on critical aspects of situations and seeing the patterns characterising those situations is a far more holistic capability than those commonly defined in competency-based approaches. Such holistic capabilities represent the links between disciplinary knowledge and professional skills. Secondary school educators find certain values important for their learners and these are articulated by means of the curriculum and studied or taught through values clarification. Values clarification is a process of helping the individual to arrive at his or her own values in a rational and justifiable way without a set of values being imposed. Values education therefore exists in order to strengthen the transfer of values in the school while critical thinking aims to develop a reflexion on values and a value development by means of analysing and comparing opinions and communicating effectively about them. Moral development is dedicated to the stages of cognitive development for learning values and the skills to reflect on them. In this way they are both cognitive, skills-oriented educational tasks. It is clear that education is concerned with critical thinking and many skills have been formulated that learners need to acquire in order to facilitate thinking critically and communicating effectively. Critical thinking manifests itself in a plethora of skills such as identifying assumptions (both stated and unstated both one's own and others), clarifying, focussing, and remaining relevant to the topic; understanding logic and judging sources by their reliability and credibility. This calls for not only skills but dispositions such as being openminded, considerate, impartial as well as suspending judgement, taking a stance when warranted, and questioning one's critical thinking skills. By implication, this reflects on teaching values clarification and critical thinking, since critical thinking derives from the fact that learners should be taught to think, to solve problems and to communicate, and to encourage involvement in their own learning. Learners need to think critically as citizens in society — being able to detect bias, recognizing illogical thinking, avoiding stereotyping of group members, reaching conclusions based on solid evidence and guarding against propaganda. For this reason critical thinking must pervade the secondary school curriculum. In conclusion, the fundamental purpose of education should have its manifestation in the acquisition of knowledge (knowing what?) and skills (knowing how); and the manipulation thereof to think critically and communicate effectively.

This thesis traced the development of the concept of creativity from the earliest works in the intellectual history of Western civilization to the late twentieth century. This historical perspective on the concept of creativity served as a backdrop to current views of the concept and as a reference source for recurrent views of the concept and as a reference source for recurrent and essential themes in the progressing debates concerning this issue.

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The study in this paper examined how teachers engaged in their structured Professional Learning Community (PLC) time in a manner that focused their work on student mathematical thinking. The participants included two third-grade teachers and two fourth-grade teachers engaged in an alternative PLC process during their collaboration time. Interviews were conducted and focused on how the teachers thought about student thinking as the driving force of their collaboration. The teachers found their PLC time was more focused, student thinking led the discussions and lessons, they were more responsive to student needs, and their own mathematical understanding increased. The teachers also found they became facilitators of the mathematical discussions occurring in their classrooms and there was a stronger community present among the grade level team. This structure of PLC created an accelerated learning process for novice teachers, increased focus during PLC time, and supported teachers to feel valued in their meetings. Teachers also felt more excitement around student thinking and became more responsive to student needs, both in planning lessons and in assessing their students. Teachers also expressed how their PLC meetings supported accelerated learning of student ideas for novice teachers, while providing professional learning for all teachers that contributed to their generative growth. Further research could examine the alternative PLC process with a whole school and what this may look like with other content areas.

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