A global concern exists regarding the lack of critical thinking skills in young adults and college graduates. Fortune 500 companies have reported the need for better development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills to prepare employees to be successful in the workplace. This study focused on teacher perceptions of the Socratic method (SM) in developing critical thinking skills in high school students. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to describe high school teachers' perceptions regarding the development of critical thinkers via the Socratic method. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development was used in this qualitative study to explore perceptions of 7 teachers. The central research question and subquestions that guided this study were focused on teachers' perceptions of the SM and its effectiveness in developing critical thinking skills in high school students. Data were collected with face-to-face interviews with 7 teachers and classroom observations. Data were recorded via a systematic approach with chart and diagrams. Themes, patterns, and any identified relationships were categorized and coded to comprise data tracking. Results indicated that a lack of professional development, teacher comfort level, and student participation all played a role in low SM execution. The resulting project was designed to provide teachers with materials and learning opportunities to increase their SM skill level and stimulate teachers to use their new knowledge to increase critical thinking skills in high school students. The online professional development course evaluation provided both summative and formative assessments. The project contributes to social change by helping improve the way teachers teach and students learn the SM, which may result in improved critical thinking skills in students.

This dissertation examines Socrates' method of examining interlocutors, referred to as the elenchus, in Plato's definitional dialogues. It contains three parts. The first part lays out various theories of the elenchus. The first chapter examines the seminal view of Richard Robinson. The second sketches the development and aftermath of Vlastos' constructivist view. The third focuses on Socrates' own testimony about the elenchus in the Apology. These pictures of the elenchus form a selection of views against which various definitional dialogues may be compared. The second part, containing six chapters, provides a detailed commentary on the Euthyphro. Various features of that dialogue suggest that neither the prominent forms of constructivism, nor their non-constructivist alternatives presented in the first part adequately capture Socrates' procedure. The third part, consisting of one chapter, presents my view of the Socratic elenchus, which I term “technical destructivism.” I argue that this view provides a straight-forward solution to a number of problems which the alternative treatments leave unsolved. It also helps to explain some otherwise puzzling features of Socrates' procedure in the shorter definitional dialogues, including his use of the technē analogy, and his appeal to the priority of definitional knowledge. / Philosophy / text

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The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which peace principles were incorporated into the two-year programme at the African Leadership Academy – a Pan-African school in Gauteng, whose mission is to develop young leaders who would contribute to making Africa a peaceful and prosperous continent. The study included investigating whether the formal and informal structures of the school promoted a culture of peace. A literature study outlined the causes of violence and violent conflicts in South Africa and on the African continent, and it also analysed the theoretical frameworks of peace education as put forward by Paulo Freire, Hossain Danesh and Maria Montessori. A qualitative case study methodology employing document analysis, observations and interviews was used. The findings showed that the two-year programme is not specifically designed as a peace education programme, but the teaching of peace principles are non-deliberately and uniquely embedded in the curriculum in the form of the particular skills, attitudes and values that learners acquire at this institution in the two years. The classroom environment and the culture of the school community inculcated in learners the qualities of unity and critical thinking and equip them with conflict resolution skills. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to the school and to all stakeholders in education. / Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)