Exploring the use of children's literature in upper primary classrooms to foster students' critical thinking skills

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to find out the use of children’s literature in fostering critical thinking skills in the context of Hong Kong upper primary school classroom. The objectives of this research are to find our how children’s literature are used in local primary schools, how teachers value picture books as a teaching resource and the feasibility of using children’s literature in local primary school classrooms to foster critical thinking skills. This ethnographic study involved experienced English teachers from two local primary schools located in different districts in Hong Kong, which they were interviewed and observed on their classroom practices of using children’s literature in the classroom. The data collected is presented in form of a narrative inquiry, which tells the career journeys of the participants. From the results, it was found that the teachers were constraint by the time, textbooks and lack training in using children’s literature.