Critical thinking?: In which team does this guy play?

The Spanish educational system like many others has many flaws. For me, one of the most flagrant is the absence of critical thinking. This is a problem throughout our academic life. In this case I will only write about the University. This is also the reason I titled the article as I did, to remark how alien this concept is to our medieval system.

Scholars, teachers and students are comfortable in a stagnant system where discussion and criticism are absent. I have found this sad truth when studying my current MA International Relations in Britain and after speaking to friends of mine studying BAs. I have had the chance to confront the two systems and compare each other. Under this perspective I want to make some points.

The dynamic of the lessons

In Britain you the lessons are divided in lectures and seminars. In the lecture the teacher makes an outline of the given topic. Afterward the teacher runs a debate on the topic which the students have previously read about. By discussing the topic and reading about the topic the students actively engage with the contents.

In the Spanish university instead, the teacher lectures the students using almost the whole time, not giving them the chance to discuss the matter properly. Moreover there are not previous readings on the topic. The method is rather simplistic: the teacher speaks out for 50 minutes and the students take notes. It is not always like this, true, but most of the time. As you can guess this dynamic is all but motivating.

Research culture

In the UK since the very beginning of your chosen course you do research. You look up information, write essays and reference your sources. By doing this you learn how to make proper research and with the years you eventually can become a proper researcher. In Spain, the student work is reduced to notemaking in the lectures and memorizing these same lectures. Sad, is it not? All the most a student can do is to make briefings of books (and many times, what a coincidence, the teacher´s book). Even if you research on something, with copying something of what is written in a very few books is enough. According to my experience research culture is almost nonexistent at BA levels. The Bolonia process represents a challenge to this establishment and this culture. I hope it is for good.

I will continue this issue in a second part writing about the book lists students are given to read in their modules and the lack of competition in the teaching career at university levels.