This proposed presentation is based on a paper published in Studies in Philosophy and Education in 2025. While the work has already been published, I have yet to present it in any formal capacity. This is a long paper by conference standards. However, I am prepared to present it in condensed form (15-20 minutes). I will be thankful for any opportunity to share my work.

In this paper, I develop a terminological, conceptual, and graphic model for understanding and expanding the scope of critical thinking in education. No single theoretical framework is employed, as I draw on a range of existing theory (and frameworks) in a project of synthesis and integration. The model provided through this work is intended as a kind of rubric to orient, inspire, and facilitate more expansive applications of critical thinking – and continued exploration into the nature of criticality more broadly.

I begin by showing why the idea of critical scope matters for education and society. I then develop a model that maps the scope of critical thinking across individual, sociocultural, and existential domains, in conjunction with the ontological, epistemological, emotional, and political dimensions. Building on this, I outline the relationships between contexts, critical frameworks, and metacritique as essential to understanding the scope of critical thinking. The model also includes a means for organising the attributes (character traits) of critical thinkers.

This work revolves around the idea of critical scope. In some ways, the scope of critical thinking is easy to observe. For example, thinking critically to pass an exam is quite different from thinking critically about the cultural traditions that shape ethical norms. A student may think critically to pass an exam in ethics, anthropology, or another field that requires the same knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to question their own sociocultural traditions, yet fail to apply critical thinking towards those purposes in their own life. An activist may rail against what they see as an unjust ideology, yet fail to turn a critical eye towards the underlying assumptions of their own positions. These are examples of limitations in the scope of critical thinking.

The implications of critical thinking operating at limited scopes are profound. Through a narrowing of scope, critical thinking may be reduced to forms of problem solving, aimed at performativity withinpredetermined contexts, but lacking explicit attention to applications across contexts and criticality towards the assumptions that shape contexts. Failure to fully consider the scope of critical thinking sought in education stands to produce incongruous applications of criticality. This may manifest in schools turning out people capable of literary critique but ill-equipped to solve practical problems, or universities producing critical business managers and accountants, but not necessarily critical consumers of media or critical democratic citizens. There are serious questions about the value of what is ‘learned’ if critical thinking stops when students leave the classroom.

The terminological, conceptual, and graphic model developed through this work aims to provide resources for understanding and expanding the scope of critical thinking. This is particularly relevant (and necessary) in education contexts with high degrees of diversity, like those found across Europe, many other parts of the world, and within cross-cultural education contexts. This work is also relevant for educational research, which typically hinges on critical thinking in some capacity, without always interrogating or understanding the complexity of criticality itself. Ultimately, this is a project aimed at exploring potentialities and perspectives within education , research, and society to help teachers and students navigate the complexities of diversity and disagreement in a shared world.

This is a desk-based philosophical inquiry which surveys a broad range of critical thinking literature to identify common features. Philosophical inquiry is deemed an appropriate method due to the normative nature of critical thinking. Critical thinking is a construct. It is not a thing that can be picked up and examined or a phenomenon that simply needs to be described; it is a practice that is created and must be maintained. Theories of critical thinking are not descriptions of how people do think, but ideals of how people ought to conduct a particular type of thinking. In this way, critical thinking is aspirational. This is a large part of why modern considerations of the concept have thrived in the fields of philosophy and philosophy of education. Of course, philosophy is not the only means of gaining insight into critical thinking. Cognitive science, neurology, sociology, psychology, and any number of other fields can make meaningful contributions to how critical thinking is understood, taught, and practised. I focus on selected literature from philosophy of education to maintain a manageable scope for this project. I draw heavily on theorists such as Dewey, Ennis, McPeck, Paul, Siegel, Barnett, Lipman, and others that have developed comprehensive theories of critical thinking. My aim is to identify common features across these varying conceptions of the practice, while also clarifying and organising terminology and concepts. My aim is not to produce or put forward an entirely new argument. However, the choices I make regarding selection and interpretation of sources are bound to be contestable. I point this out wherever possible, aim to justify these choices, and welcome critiques that cam contribute to the ongoing development of this project. While the model developed through this work is unique, I am less concerned with novelty than utility. The ultimate aim is for this work to support people in understanding and expanding the scope of critical thinking. I intend for this project to prompt critique, collaboration, and further exploration. The underlying method is one of philosophical inquiry, exploration, organisation, and perhaps provocation.

This project aims to provide a terminological, conceptual, and graphic model for understanding and expanding the scope of critical thinking. This stands to contribute to the design, interpretation, and implementation of policy, curricula, and pedagogy. In the paper I briefly discuss how this model may help improve the rigour, reach, and diversity of critical thinking, showing why this is particularly relevant (and necessary) in contexts with high degrees of diversity. A central contention of this paper is that critical thinking is not just about solving problems or making judgments within the contours of school disciplines, academic subjects, specialised research, or as a reflective practitioner. It is about embracing criticality as an aspect of being, which is relevant and valuable in all facets of life. In this view, diversity and difference are not impediments to critical thinking, but the very resources that can expand its scope. Education and society need people capable of navigating complex and diverse contexts, delineating and negotiating the appropriate scope of critical thinking, and collaborating to cultivate critical dialogues. The model of critical scope provided here is intended as a tool to help apply and realise expansive forms of critical thinking as central aspects of education with the explicit intention of application beyond the confines of schools, disciplines, and discrete practices. This paper also aims to contribute toward future research (philosophical and empirical), focused on the application and impact of the model developed through this project. I am eager to get critical feedback to help refine and apply the theory developed in this paper. This is a key motivation for presenting at the ECER conference.

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