The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between multiple intelligences, thinking styles, and critical-thinking abilities of the fifth- and sixth-grade students. Investigation method was employed in the study. 578 fifth- and sixth-grade students in the suburban and urban areas of Tainan and Kaohsiung participated in this study. The employed instruments included Multiple Intelligences Appraisal, Thinking Styles Appraisal for the Primary Students, and the Test of Critical-thinking Skills for Primary and Secondary School Students. The applied analysis methods were Descriptive Statistics, Hotelling¡¦s , Multivariate Analysis of Variance, Canonical Correlation Analysis, and Discriminant Analysis. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1. There were no significant gender differences in critical-thinking abilities. 2.The students¡¦ critical-thinking abilities in urban areas were better than those in suburban areas. 3. The students¡¦ logical-mathematical intelligence and linguistic intelligence were positively correlated with their abilities of making deductions and evaluating arguments. 4. There were no significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of executive thinking style. 5. There were significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of legislative thinking style. 6. There were significant differences in critical-thinking abilities for students with different level of judicial thinking style. 7. The students¡¦ living areas, logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and judicial thinking style were positively correlated with their abilities in recognizing assumptions, making deductions, and evaluating arguments. Finally, the researcher proposed some suggestions for the educational organizations, the primary school teachers, and future studies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the language proficiency and critical thinking abilities of Grade 11 learners in the ACE system. This would aid to direct learners in the FET phase to enhance their critical thinking skills and language proficiency. ACE is referred to as the Accelerated Christian Education or School of Tomorrow. Accelerated Christian Education is the trade name of School of Tomorrow. The School of Tomorrow program is individualised and non-graded. It allows each learner to work on his performance and achievement level which can differ from learning area to learning area (School of Tomorrow, 1995:29). Language proficiency is of utmost importance when it comes to cognitive development within the classroom, the curriculum or life in general, especially when a learner has to learn his subjects in another language of learning and teaching (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2005:73). According to Cummins (in McKay, 2007:2) each learner should be taught in his mother-tongue to a threshold level of proficiency in order to transfer the knowledge to the other language and ensure positive cognitive growth. If a learner is not proficient in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) his academic achievement will be poor as well as his critical thinking skills. South Africa has II official languages in terms of Act 108 of the Constitution (Department of Education, I997). In the Further Education and Training phase, learners have to take two of the 11 official languages as their core majors and other languages can be taken as electives (Department of Education, 2005:11). Since parents have the right to choose their child's language of learning and teaching and are not bound by law to choose their mother-tongue, English is mainly chosen as it is seen as the language of educational and economic empowerment (De Klerk, 1995:28). However, it is emphasised by Schroeder (2004:383) and Woolfolk (2004: 179) that mother-tongue education is by far preferable. Weideman and Van Rensburg (2006:157) are of the opinion that it is better to be taught and be academically successful in one's mother tongue before choosing another language of learning and teaching. De Klerk (1995:50) asserts that a lack of language proficiency in the language of learning and teaching is a main reason for low academic performance. One of the main aims of education is to gain as much information as possible. However, information is gained through communication and communication through a language (De Bono, 1969:9). If, however, the individual is not able to understand the language with all its nuances, certain information is missed. And as information is missed, it is thrown away. A person cannot think about something he does not understand (Strydom & Du Plessis, 2000: 129). Critical thinking is necessary for every day decision making. No matter what one's circumstances, a person with good thinking skills will be more successful in life. Poor thinking causes frustration, a waste of time, ineffective use of energy and pain (Paul & Elder, 2002: xiii). A critical thinker will be able to apply the knowledge he/she has learnt in real life situations. Vygotsky (McGregor, 2007: I 0) asked the question: "Does language mirror thought or thought language or both?" In educational psychology it is generally accepted that language and thinking are interwoven (Donald, et a!., 2005 :219). The descriptive research method was used. For the purpose of this study, 10 Grade 11 learners from the ACE system were conveniently sampled. These learners included six English Mother Tongue (EMT) learners and four English Second Language (ESL) learners. For the empirical research the ELSA test was used for language proficiency and the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test for testing critical thinking skills. Descriptive statistics were employed to interpret the results since the sample was too small for correlations and inferences. Generally the language proficiency of the EMT learners was on a Grade level 10. The language proficiency of the ESL learners was generally also on a Grade level I 0, which is acceptable for ESL learners. Critical thinking skills such as evaluation and interpretation were overall adequately developed. However, most of the learners performed poorly with inferences. Although statistical correlations could not be made, because of the small sample, with 8 of the learners it appears as if there was a link between language proficiency and critical thinking skills. These 8 learners' language proficiency and critical thinking results were either equally good or equally poor. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Learning and Teaching)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

In a challenging and constantly changing world, students are required to develop advanced thinking skills such as critical systematic thinking, decision making and problem solving. This challenge requires developing critical thinking abilities which are essential in unfamiliar situations. A central component in current reforms in mathematics and science studies worldwide is the transition from the traditional dominant instruction which focuses on algorithmic cognitive skills towards higher order cognitive skills. The transition includes, a component of scientific inquiry, learning science from the student''s personal, environmental and social contexts and the integration of critical thinking. The planning and implementation of learning strategies that encourage first order thinking among students is not a simple task. In an attempt to put the importance of this transition in mathematical education to a test, we propose a new method for mathematical instruction based on the infusion approach put forward by Swartz in 1992. In fact, the model is derived from two additional theories., that of Ennis (1989) and of Libermann and Tversky (2001). Union of the two latter is suggested by the infusion theory. The model consists of a learning unit (30h hours) that focuses primarily on statistics every day life situations, and implemented in an interactive and supportive environment. It was applied to mathematically gifted youth of the Kidumatica project at Ben Gurion University. Among the instructed subjects were bidimensional charts, Bayes law and conditional probability; Critical thinking skills such as raising questions, seeking for alternatives and doubting were evaluated. We used Cornell tests (Ennis 1985) to confirm that our students developed critical thinking skills.

本研究旨在探討高中生的教師品格教學、父母品格教養、批判思考能力、品格信念及品格行為之關係。研究參與者來自台北縣市公立高中二、三年級，有效樣本計538人。本研究採用的研究工具包括「品格行為量表」、「品格信念量表」、「品格教學行為量表」、「父親品格教養行為量表」、「母親品格教養行為量表」及「批判思考測驗—第一級」（CTT-Ⅰ）。資料分析所用的統計方法包括描述統計、單因子多變量變異數分析及線性模式分析。本研究主要發現如下： 1.就學校教師而言，大多身兼導師的國文、英文、數學科老師，對高中生品格影響最為深遠；就一般對象而言，母親及父親對孩子的品格影響最大。 2.不同性別的高中生在品格信念及品格行為上均有顯著差異：在品格信念方面，女生顯著優於男生，尤其在「責任」、「關懷」及「公民性」等指標的信念；在品格行為方面，女生亦顯著優於男生，尤在「值得信賴」、「公平」「關懷」及「公民性」等指標的表現。 3.不同年級的高中生在品格信念及品格行為上沒有顯著差異。 4.不同父母的教育程度的高中生在品格信念及品格行為上沒有顯著差異。 5.高中生品格信念及品格行為會相互影響：亦即品格信念程度愈高者，其本身品格行為表現愈好；品格行為表現愈佳者，擁有的品格信念程度愈高。 6.教師的品格教學行為對高中生的品格信念及品格行為有顯著效果，亦即知覺教師品格教學程度愈高者，其品格信念也愈強，品格行為表現程度也愈佳。 7.父母的品格教養行為對高中生的品格信念及品格行為有顯著效果，亦即知覺父母品格教養程度愈高者，其品格信念也愈強，品格行為表現程度也愈佳。 8.高中生批判思考能力對品格信念和品格行為沒有顯著的正向效果。 9.就高中生品格行為發展之子模式而言，教師品格教學行為及父母品格教養會互動之後，分別對品格信念及品格行為產生直接和間接的影響，且品格信念和品格行為間會相互影響。 最後，本研究依據上述的研究結果進行討論，並提出相關建議以供教師教學、父母教養及後續研究之參考。 / The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among teachers’ character teaching, parents’ character parenting, critical-thinking abilities, character beliefs, and character behaviors of high school students. The participants included 538 students sampled from six high schools in Taipei City. The employed instruments in this study were the Inventory of Character Behaviors, the Inventory of Character Beliefs, the Inventory of Character Teaching, the Inventory of Father’s Character Parenting, the Inventory of Mother’s Character Parenting, and the Critical-thinking Test, LevelⅠ. The employed analysis methods included Descriptive Statistics, One-Way Multiple Analysis of Variance, and Structural Equation Modeling. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1.As for school teachers, Chinese, English and Mathematical teachers who usually serve as tutors had the greatest effect on the high school students’ character development; as for general subjects, mothers and fathers had the most profound effect on the high school students’ character development. 2.There were significant gender differences on character beliefs and character behaviors. Specifically, the females outperformed the males in character beliefs, especially in “responsibility”, “caring”, and “citizenship”; moreover, the females outperformed the males in character behaviors, especially in “trust worthiness”, “fairness”, and “citizenship”. 3.There were no significant differences on character beliefs and character behaviors between the second graders and the third graders. 4.There were no significant differences on character beliefs and character behaviors among the three parents’ educational levels. 5.The relationships of character beliefs and character behaviors among the high school students were bi-directional. In other words, those who had stronger character beliefs performed more character behaviors and those who performed more character behaviors had stronger character beliefs. 6.The teachers’ character teaching had significant effects on the high school students’ character beliefs and character behaviors. Specifically, those who perceived higher degree of character teaching had higher character beliefs and performed more character behaviors. 7.The parents’ character teaching had significant effects on the high school students’ character beliefs and character behaviors. Specifically, those who perceived higher degree of character parenting had stronger character beliefs and performed more character behaviors. 8.The high school students’ critical-thinking abilities had no positive effects on their character beliefs and character behaviors. 9.In terms of the Model for the development of high school students’ characters, teachers’ character teaching and parents’ character parenting interactively influenced, both directly and indirectly, the high school students’ character beliefs and character behaviors; meanwhile, character beliefs and character behaviors influence each other. Finally, the researcher proposed some suggestions for educational instructions, parental upbringing, and future studies.