Adapting, not adopting: Barriers affecting teaching for critical thinking at two Rwandan universities

Abstract

A recent study of student learning at three of Rwanda’s most prestigious public universities has suggested that Rwandan students are not improving in their critical thinking ability during their time at university (Schendel, 2015). This paper reports on a series of Faculty-level case studies, which were conducted at two of the participating institutions in order to investigate some of the reasons behind these results. Although educational practices likely to foster critical thinking skills are required elements of the undergraduate curriculum at both institutions, the case study analysis suggests that these practices are being fundamentally altered during implementation, due to a limited understanding of the rationale for pedagogical change and low levels of faculty motivation to implement more labor-intensive teaching methods. The findings suggest that teaching and learning policies are only likely to be effective if accompanied by pedagogical training and support for ongoing faculty development.