LOVE AND CRITICAL THINKING

1LOVE, MORALITY AND CRITICAL THINKING

Love and Critical Thinking: Chilean Primary Students Solving Local Environmental

Problems.

David Ampuero C.

San Esteban Department of Education, San Esteban, Chile, 2120000, +56 34 487502

[email protected]

Christian Miranda J.

Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, Chile, 5090000, +56 63 221278,

[email protected]

Luisa E. Delgado

University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, 8320000, +56 2 2712978,

[email protected]

Sean Weaver

Carbon Partnership Ltd., Takaka, New Zealand, 7110, +64 3 525 6029,

[email protected]

Correspondence should be sent to David Ampuero C., San Esteban Department

of Education, No. 154, Santa Teresa Av., San Esteban, Los Andes, Valparaíso, Chile,

2120000. E-mail: [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]


Abstract

In this article we evaluate the outcomes of children considering emotion and critical

thinking on a school environmental context. Observations were conducted within an

environmental education course involving teaching of critical thinking. We also applied

emotional techniques to help guiding the thinking process. The findings reveal a

significant benefit of using emotional elements to engage students on the thinking

process of solving environmental problems. Using this kind of teaching techniques can

be very helpful to reach the aims of creating an environmental citizenry within

vulnerable socio-economic areas.

Keywords: Chile, environmental education, school curriculum, critical thinking,

emotion.

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Love, Morality and Critical Thinking: Chilean Primary Students Solving Local

Environmental Problems.

Among the educational demands that the current social context names as

meaningful and necessary to keep in mind, are those related to achieving that pupils

develop their ability to think and empathize. The teaching of thought processes has been

present since the beginnings of education. Nevertheless, at a global level the results

obtained by different educational systems show a more or less generalized norm,

characterized by the superficiality of the learning obtained in school. Students seem to

have learned pieces of information and sometimes are able to repeat ideas or memorize

concepts. However, their intellectual abilities to establish relationships or to transfer and

use information so as to solve problems, as a result of regular schooling, are definitely

not been achieved to an acceptable level (Elliot & Dweck, 2007; Miranda, Zambrano &

Jelbes, 2010; Santrock, 2006).

Some researchers have associated this problem with the teaching strategies used,

which have typically tended to emphasize the acquisition of content by rote, at the

expense of developing and learning skills that facilitate understanding. Thus, the

performance of graduates of the education system results in being far below their real

potential. The cause for this behaviour, according to the results of Langer (2000), is

more of unwillingness rather than a real lack of capabilities.

In this sense, research in education has focused its sights on establishing which

the generative variables of learning at school are. The prevailing paradigm

(constructivism) seeks to promote thinking skills, providing two basic premises for

understanding the action of learning: think of it as a social subject in training that

constructs ideas, images and experiences in a contemplative way, makes decisions,

discharges judgments, has beliefs and generates its own developmental and school

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performance routines, and also accepts that the critical thought process should be guided

and mentored by the student's behaviour (Nieto & Valenzuela, 2010).

Based on these concepts, the perspective upon which this work has been built is

that of Problem-Solving, which defines the student as a reflexive being capable of

developing higher cognitive processes. These processes can, in turn, be observed as

skills for inquiring, information analysis and communication to solve environmental

problems by means of the critical thinking method (Ernst & Monroe, 2004; Singh,

2011). Thus, we define and characterizes critical thinking as a specific competence of

the socio-cognitive type which questions, puts into question and problematize any truth

or knowledge that without a critical assessment prior, context whichever truth or

knowledge which without previous critical judgement, aims to set itself up as sole, final

and absolute.

The importance of the problem-solving approach in the field of education has

increased considerably in recent years due to the numerous studies that have been

conducted. This is raised, for example, in the review by Borup (2001) which analyzed

the 215 submissions for the Seventh International Conference on Critical Thinking and

Educational Reform, and concludes that more than 166 of them relate to this approach.

In addition, it appears that critical thinking, expressed through the inclusion of current

environmental issues (e.g. Hydroaysen Project and educational reforms in Chile), is a

reality in the social demands by Chilean students. Furthermore, there are scientific

evidences of a positive relationship between this approach and a number of cognitive

and affective aspects of students (Martin, 1992; Fox, 2002; Wang & Ku, 2010). For

example, Stanley (1991) cites studies of Howard and Mendelhall (1982), Baxter, Ferrel

and Wiltz (1984), Cristopoulus, Rohwer and Thomas (1987), Gooddlad (1984), Ravitch

and Finn (1987) among others, where it is argued that positive correlations were found

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between the ability of critical thinking towards teaching staff and the students' ability to

solve problems through it.

In the same way, previous studies in Chile (Miranda, 2005; Jelves & Zambrano,

2006) established the presence of a profile of thinking in trainee teachers and teachers in

service, which demonstrates the connections between dimensions of critical thinking. It

shows cognitions of top character in the process of information acquisition, where the

tendency is to communicate, presenting a little management on what is decision

making, choice of resources and research strategies. However, in order to build a

systematic search procedure, this resolution is also limited by the absence of feedback

mechanisms within educational programs that should encourage the participation of

students, interfering its critical understanding, which should be oriented to the solving

of environmental problems as observable and evaluated products of their learning

process (Chadwich, 2001). This is explained, in part, by a poor training on both civics

and critical thinking from the basis of the national education system which currently

privileges the search for environmental solutions at traditional political levels,

emphasizing the reproduction of scientific knowledge at schools rather than promoting

analytical and critical visions of such knowledge (Miranda et al. 2010).

Thus, questions arise regarding the nature and type of thinking that is promoted

among students and their future roles as social beings. The alluded questions have direct

training implications in terms of reforms and the system in general. Society, in

accordance with current approaches (OCDE, 2004 & 2009), demands that the school

system provide higher-level intellectual skills; this in turn necessarily requires giving

the educational system capacities for policy implementation such as environmental

education (Ernst & Monroe, 2004; Hofreiter, Monroe, & Taylor, 2007; Singh, 2011).

We think that education is one of the strongest tools to model our future and a key

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factor of social change. Environmental education, as one of its essential dimensions

given its specificity, goals and the processes that generate, is an important factor of that

change. Thus, through the stimulation of critical thinking and affectivity, along with

compromise and responsibility, it is possible to built new values and ways to interact

with the environment (Allen, 1975; Yeung, 2002).

We hope that future students, through their cognitive skill, will be able to solve

such deferred problems as environmental pollution, using available knowledge critically

and creatively (Ernst & Monroe, 2004; Kumler, 2011). For this reason, one should

begin by investigating the formation of such capacities, which is the meaning and

orientation of this work.

A Methodology for Teachers

This research was conducted through an environmental education program, which had a

workshop as its core. It was applied to the entire student community of a school located

in the province of the Andes, Central Chile. There were two courses for every level

from first to eighth grade (16 courses in total), with children aged 5 to 14 years. The

total number of students (n) was 499, belonging to the middle and lower economic

sector, mainly from rural families with working parents in the agriculture industry and

mining.

The study used community based research methodology (Baxter & Eyles, 1997;

Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Wakefield, Yeudall, Taron, Reynolds, & Skinner, 2007), which

includes a substantial level of community participation, the school community in this

case, helping researchers from omitting local knowledge. For the evaluation of critical

thinking the six skills proposed in a study of 30 experts conducted in 1990, called the

Delphi study (American Psychological Association, 1990; Facione, 1998) were used.

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The methodology uses three main techniques: Participant’s observation, that is

used to develop an image of social life; in this case, patterns of critical thinking and

their interpretation in the context of the educational community; focus groups, which

can obtain greater insights by participants; and in-depth interviews, to facilitate the

expression of the participants and gain experiences and perceptions of critical thinking

skills (Phillips & Bond, 2004; Hofreiter et al. 2007). During the study, the researcher

(first author) participated as professor of the educational establishment, taking field

notes and recording throughout the school day all through the year (March-December).

Researchers were also granted access to student writings, papers, and documents. The

in-depth interviews were conducted with 60 students and 30 staff, lasting between

30-100 minutes. Two focus groups per class were done during the course (32). The

classes, focus groups and interviews were recorded and transcribed, and formed the

heart of data analysis, supplemented by field notes from participant observation. The

transcripts were analysed by thematic codes and each transcript read line by line to

identify important themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The criteria for the selection of

topics were the frequency, extent, intensity and specificity of responses (Krueger,

1998).

A New Strategy of Love and Critical Thinking in the School Environment: A

Model for Activation of Sustainable Behaviours (MASBE).

Commencing with a baseline: an image of the school

Keene & Blumstein (2010), discuss the need for a culture of evaluation in

environmental education programs, which from the outset seek sound evidence through

well designed methodologies such as both pre-post and treatment control. The latter are

generally used in adaptive management of fisheries and forestry programs. The program

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followed by this study proposes the creation of a "baseline" during the first two weeks

of classes. This will allow the collection of background information on the economic,

social and ecological environment of the school before the application of a course of

treatment (Carleton-Hug & Hug, 2010). In this way, the teacher can report differences

within and between groups, and have a clear understanding of the environment in which

they will work that year, such as: the school’s human and material resources, the

structural conditions of the school and the students with whom they will work. If the

course was already followed the previous year, they will get some idea of the new status

of students after two months (on vacation) of interruption from the program.

Second - Life Labs

The practical part of the workshop was the construction, by the students, of a Life Lab

in an abandoned space existing in the school. The idea of using this room to practice

critical thinking and emotion was based on previous successes by the internationally

renowned Organised Garden Projects in terms of the individual strengthening of

personal responsibility through human-plant exchanges. In respect to the vast diversity

that characterizes these projects, Pudup (2008) discusses the existence of three major

movements in the contemporary era: a) The first in response to ameliorate the

deteriorating conditions in urban areas, such as the abandoned space used this study, b)

the second movement focuses on the benefits of "human-plant interactions," in which

the person develops alternative subjectivities through individual gardening practices in

the collective settings; c) the third movement, on which this study is mainly focused, is

environmental psychology, which uses and preserves open spaces managed and

developed by local residents, like the students, to provide a visual and psychological

liberation of the surrounding built environment, such as the school. In the school

setting, the Organized Garden Projects have taken the form of Life Labs, which are at

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the forefront in the development of practical scientific curriculums focused on the

environment, connecting lessons in the garden to other domains of learning. Up to the

beginning of the twenty-first century more than 1000 schools across the United States

have formally adopted the Life Lab curriculum. These places vary greatly according to

the needs and circumstances of the community involved, encouraging behavioural

change, environmental equity and sustainable development (Ferris et al. 2001; Holland,

2004). This study proposes the use of Life Labs as a technique for psychological

liberation, interaction, enjoyment, enjoyment, reflection and thinking, where students

can realize and practice the critical thinking and emotion learned in the classroom

during the environmental education workshop. To familiarize and encourage students

with the activities in this new space, the education workshop began with a month of

activities in this space, better known to children as "the Garden", after this month the

classroom lessons started, the time was divided into theoretical and practical work,

generally 30 minutes of talk in the classrooms and 15 working in the Life Lab. The

activities in “the Garden” are connected to outings to the park, the vegetable market, the

adjacent plaza, nursing homes and other local places, teaching critical thinking and

emotional education in a transversal way (Ackerson, 1992).

Third - Emotion, morality and critical thinking in the school environment

"What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that other people live, act

and experience in a manner so different from ours?"

Friedrich Nietzsche (1958)

Hofreiter et al. (2007), have been pioneers in trying to understand and use the moral and

emotional factor as part of a course on critical thinking in the environmental context.

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From their experience, due to time factors and the need to guide emotion and morality,

we have tried explicitly to teach these elements as part of critical thinking.

Love is an emotion that has proven to be a top healing treatment and improving the

physical and mental wellbeing of a person (Sleeth, 2010, Wang & Ku, 2010). However,

in the field of critical thinking, we may cite what has been said by Harry Harlow in his

presidential address to the American Psychological Association in 1958, during which

he stated that "poets and novelists have written better than psychologists on love". For

this reason we venture to define an emotional element as a technique for considering

emotion in critical thinking, which is called “environmental love®” (Facione, 1998).

This emotional element was used in an explicit way in the classroom and

correspondingly during the school community’s weekly meeting, usually Mondays. At

this meeting, 5 to 8 minutes were allocated to discuss this emotional element using real

examples from within the school environment. Each of the emotional sub-skills outlined

below were taught explicitly and individually each week using examples of identified

environmental problems in the school.

The sub-categories were:

1) Emotional self-examination: The ability to cope with emotional reactions during the

monitoring of our own thinking, retaining positive emotions and gently correcting logic

flows.

2) Emotional Prudence: The ability to understand and control the information fairly,

avoiding envy, boasts, to act unfairly, or to favour one's interests.

3) Emotional self-control: The ability to analyse without annoyance, grudge or enjoying

injustice, but in order to take pleasure in the truth and to evaluate and draw conclusions

justly (based on the truth).

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4) Emotional courage: The ability to explain the thought process and being willing to

suffer, have patience for and bear all consequences of this action.

5) Dimensionless emotion: The expression should not be subject to specific times or

places.

On the other hand, we applied the second technique Hofreiter et al. (2007) which is

aimed at using real world examples to teach critical thinking and emotions. It allows

students to grapple with current problems and decide what they should do or believe.

Storytelling is an effective way of applying this technique with children (Wang & Ku,

2010). In this instance, because there were only about 30 minutes for this activity, the

teacher used short, varied and dramatized stories based on experiences of students in

their school life. This causes catharsis in the students in a way that tends to reflect these

experiences with their emotions (Brand & Donato, 2001). The conversation in each

class outlined an ethical topic associated with the educational purposes of the

establishment, addressing current problems in the social, economic and ecological

spheres of school, family and community. In the routines the teacher implemented and

encouraged the use of thinking skills. This exercise allowed the teachers to model the

skills, being able to change their point of view and admit their prejudices based on

student responses. The lack of a "right" answer in the mind of the teacher helps the

student in the development of these elements. The instructor also discusses his own

thought process on the problem, including a critical view of the information,

commenting on prejudices and faults in logic, and presenting a history of their views

(Hofreiter et al., 2007). We understand from the authors that to discuss a context so

familiar to the student makes critical thinking a challenge, which is why the use of

emotion is incorporated as a catalyst to guide the thinking process.

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Another technique was to introduce critical thinking skills by starting with the emotions

and values and then moving on to information and logic; this means that the order of

elements might be self-regulation, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference and

explanation. Finally, students were encouraged to be responsible for their own decisions

and pursue their own learning and action throughout their school, family and civic life,

focussing on: development of goals; action plans for subsequent decisions about what

information to collect; and what to do if something goes wrong.

Fourth - The framework for environmental education strategies

Behavioural diversity and the likelihood of differences in the level of development of

critical thinking skills among students and college courses requires the use of an

environmental education method that meets the educational needs of each group,

leading to the desired result. When starting the course, students may already possess a

level of critical thinking developed through other means, the door is open for each

individual freely examine themselves critically, evaluate their own reasoning process

and also increase their knowledge base and life experiences (American Psychological

Association, 1990). For this reason, we use the environmental education framework

proposed by Monroe et al. (2007), which "proposes nested categories so that the

subsequent categories may include the previous". This gives them the flexibility to

adjust to various levels of rationality and behaviour among students. The interesting

thing about this framework is that the change from one category to another depends on

the participation of the students, "a variable that describes the variety of pathways in

which the educator and the learner can interact". The teacher has the flexibility to work

with distinct college courses, and each of these can evolve in different magnitude during

the application of the course.

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Humble Home - Powerful Results (Time to Change)

The school and the town

The interdisciplinary nature of the course and its theoretical and practical components

provided opportunities to coordinate thematic areas and to explore the connections

between natural and social systems. Thus, the environmental context of the workshop

blurs the line between learning in the classroom and real life applications. This

provides opportunities for students to develop and use critical thinking through the

normal interactions between natural and social systems, and real issues that emerge

from these interactions. The data shows a progressive and collective shift towards a

student community more aware of personal welfare and the environment. It was

conveyed through a progressive reduction of environmental problems present in the

school surroundings. Among the changes was a decrease in violence seen during breaks

and a significant reduction in damage to school facilities.

“What I did note were general changes, there was less violence when they met at

recess, at the hour from one to two. While it would have been preferable to

completely eradicate the violence, there were changes in that aspect ... the

children began not to run so much, their game became more normal, not so

brusque. I could perceive this because I have worked here for years, 33 years, and

I have had to observe [their conduct] ... the children were more responsible”

(Female Teacher).

On the other hand, students were increasingly concerned with keeping the school

cleaner and caring for green areas. This change was the most evident since, at the

beginning of the year, children had been throwing large amounts of trash on the ground

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including lunch or snacks (provided by the government) they did not like, a situation

which reversed itself as the year progressed.

“From what I've seen and what I hear from the girls [female assistants] this year

the kids have been much cleaner than other years. Before we used to have to, after

recess, gather up all the things the kids [children] had thrown away throughout

the school, but now almost nothing is dirty.” (Assistant Maintenance Man)

The information also showed that the shift in consciousness was discern to a

much greater extent in the juniors from first through fourth grade, showing a significant

degree of participation, which often developed into small sustainable actions in which

teacher and student worked together for a common goal. In addition, during the

monthly meetings with representatives, many parents reported greater environmental

awareness and positive behavioural changes in the development of the child outside of

school.

“In the gardens they [students] made sure that nothing would get damaged or if it

did they would come and fetch me, like when there were children for example who

came to play in those places. Once even, when a twig was broken off a tree they

came looking for me straight away [immediately], so they learned to value the

gardens, green areas. It was the first time that the trees and flowers remained

unbroken right up to the end of the year; the children even went to water the

plants. In these parts I realized that the children learned to think, reflect ... before

the school was disgusting, but now they worry about cleaning up the wrappers”

(Female Teacher).

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The classroom

Behavioural changes due to the program were most evident in first through fourth grade

courses. In the first and second grade course, the successfully guided critical thinking

process began with a clear presence of emotion, then morality and later moved towards

information and logic, always emphasizing the obvious use of emotions and moral rules

as guiding the process of thought. Occasionally children became very emotional, as

they pondered and shared their experiences and emotions. In third and fourth grade

courses the role of emotion in guiding thought was not so obvious. These children,

unlike those in the first two levels, have poorer comments and information in a critical

sense, but participated and tried to sort their logical and emotional thinking. These

children are still open to share personal problems, or those involving close ones, within

the critical thinking process without being affected by emerging emotions. In fact,

students in first through fourth were pleased to learn about love and how to use it to

think, seeing as they could establish moral rules and solve problems affecting them

individually and / or people close to them.

Developing the disposition in children from first to fourth grade, to maintain an

open mind, self confidence, and the pursuit of truth (truth-seeking) facilitated the

control of their rational self, achieving progressive development of their critical thought

process. Thus, at the end of the school year, students responded to questions more

truthful, accurate, relevant, clearer, broader and deeper. In those courses where

teachers, throughout the week, used (reinforced) what they had taught in the course to

talk to the children about their behaviour, there was a significantly amplified

development of self-discipline, ability to listen and participate as a team of critical

thinkers.

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“I saw respect, order ... we mostly deliver content through a guide because there

are children who cannot write fast or read, we explain what we do, work and

review, it is always somewhat monotonous. In contrast, in the course

[environmental education] it was not about developing a guide, but about

listening; normally they get distracted even by a paper, but they paid attention and

applied the things they were taught, there was no need to call them to attention as

much ... Benjamin was very similar to Paolo [severe case of misbehavior], but he

began to think about his actions, returned and apologized. That was the most

obvious case. He ended up being a gentleman; a small gentleman ... In general

there was a willingness to think critically”. (Female teacher)

The presence of student leaders with a high level of thoughtlessness interrupted

the program’s effects. They were characterized by thinking of themselves during

classroom activities and LifeLab, seeking their own benefit and gratification through

passive or active distracting behaviours, regardless of whether this impeached the rights

of peers or the teacher. At the beginning of the school year this conduct tried to be

increasingly hidden in rational acts as the student's age increased. Through teaching the

environmental course using critical thinking, especially the practical part, self-centred

actions were clearly visible and intelligible for the course. As the students grew in

critical thinking, including some self-centred leaders, they slowly realized the value of

critical thinking and its dissimilarity to thoughtlessness; they began to gradually leave

their egocentricity behind and avoiding being drawn into group thinking, defended the

rights and needs of the rest of the course (including the teacher), identifying and

refuting a more logical and constructive self-centred behaviours of their peers in class,

often turning into a real and tense debate, where students began to identify the trend of

egocentric and socio-centric nature. In classes where the majority of students were

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highly unreflective (groups of 9 children), characterized also by the use of verbal or

physical violence, this controlled reaction by the rest of the course became more

difficult, the negative emotions that these groups produced significantly affected the

training and development of critical thinking in class.

Students

Interviews revealed that students clearly recognized that their critical thinking was

improved and that they felt a greater tendency to use these skills when given the

opportunity; opportunities that were learner rather than teacher centred and mostly in

environments different from the classroom. Students understood that the process of

critical thinking begins with a problem or an issue. They learned to observe their mind

sets using emotional skills and self-regulation, which allowed them to keep an open

mind and judge their own emotional reactions to the topic. The use of environmental

problems within the school community, including family and society, allowed students,

even with the most personal problems and issues, to learn recognizing their own bias,

consider new information, which often was already at hand but their negative emotions

and impulsiveness had not allowed them to recognise, and to judge it according to its

credibility. As students gained critical thinking throughout the semester and showed

significant gains in terms of self-regulation, interpretation, analysis and evaluation, the

interviews showed the complexities of using critical thinking in an environmental

context.

“This workshop helped me to think ... all this time [her life] there was like a box in

my mind, full of things and issues that I did not understand [tears]. But now with

what I have learned and the box opened, now I can see everything that was there.”

(Female student, 9 years old)

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The process also involved comparing the new inferences to other information

previously accepted, considering the source of information; this does not necessarily

mean that the child consulted with others, since this is rarely perceived. The student,

personally, came to judge what to think based on the analysis of information and its

implications for others.

“It [the course] helped me to examine everything ... helped me solve the problem

with my sister [older] in terms of not fighting so much, talking more, helping each

other more ... it helped me to have to think positively of all aspects of Francisca

[sister] ... I feel happy now with Fran [Francisca] and we get along better, we can

go to all different places together ... before the relationship was quite bad,

whatever she said was wrong, I told on her, I answered back and I yelled.”

(Female Student, 13 years)

When the emotional elements are addressed explicitly, it facilitated the guiding

of students through the channels of critical thinking. Students, especially the youngest,

and the moral conclusions of their findings, were also important factors in their

decisions on what to do or what to believe about an issue. Observations and interviews

confirmed that students prefer explicit instructions on emotion and morality in order to

think critically. Significant gains in analysis, evaluation and self-regulation were

obtained through this instructional model. The time dedicated to teaching about

emotion and morality and allowing students to practice this during outdoor activities,

were an essential component of the course.

Starting talks with the emotional component value have shown to be effective in

improving self-regulation. For the interviewed students this was the first course which

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requested them to understand their own views on an issue, and how to improve them.

The ability to infer and the willingness to think critically, improved significantly

especially with issues impacting the student’s family and friends or topics that directly

affected their own identity. Although teaching critical thinking is shaped by the

instructors, the use of examples from the student’s own life enhanced the development

of their analytical skills. On the other hand, students consistently considered the

responsibility of decision-making as a key factor in their development of thought

processes, particularly in terms of the student’s willingness to think critically. The

dispositions for seeking truth, self-confidence in critical thinking and an open mind,

were developed considerably especially in environments such as the home and the

community. Through discussions students were encouraged to carefully consider what

they have done and learned. In any case, the program involved reflection beyond verbal

or written reflections encouraging students to communicate the significance of their

discoveries through their actions to classmates and other people within the school

community, family and community. This was important because many students

emphasized the key role that these activities played in stimulating thinking and

ultimately learning.

Discussion

The socioeconomic environment these children deal with, and the national educational

system that does not provide a curriculum that helps teachers to think critically

(Miranda, 2005), reduces the student’s self-concept and their opportunities to abandon

natural self-centeredness behaviours (Jelves & Zambrano, 2006; Stanley, 1991).

However, results show that the adoption of an adequate educational approach to develop

critical thinking causes students to positively grow on emotional and intellectual

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empathy towards people and the environment; seeing the last as an internal instead of an

external part of them. The effect of these programs is significantly higher on students

between first and fourth grade than older. Although the later showed abilities to develop

critical thinking, a one-year program may not be long enough for them to utilize in

practice what they have learned. Perhaps multiple years of this environmental

education program could improve the willingness of older students to think and act

critically (Ernst & Monroe, 2004). Using together both emotion and critical thinking

seems like a first step of a strategy to get people on the road to a preservationist culture

and that will get humanity out of the environmental current that have led a us to the

actual global crisis.

When children melt emotion and critical thinking, or as many of them mentioned

"thinking with love", in their own social, ecological and economic life it opens a big

door of hope and prosperity. Thus, after one year of the program, students already use

these tools as ‘medicine’ for the problems they have been exposed to, helping them

preserve and improve the school environment. These findings confirm the ideas of

Wang and Ku (2010), who infer that if the teacher instructs children on affective

education by making them think about the multiple facets of an issue, they would be

able to develop their critical thinking, minimizing the negative impact of their family

environment. Indeed, students proved to be able to face and solve such serious

problems to today’s education as divorce, domestic abuse, coexistence, school bullying,

vandalism in public places and environmental awareness to mention a few. This proves

that the strategies used can help creating a citizenry that is more informed and better

able to bear with complex world problems (Hofreiter et al., 2007, Singh, 2011).

Emotion and morality are shown to be essential guides of the thinking process

and the development of character in harsh environments. For the children, love and

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emotions were the most interesting topics, they highlighted the value they received by

applying the concept of environmental love to the thinking process and how it drove

them to endure and continue to grow as thinkers and keep fighting to solve the various

problems in their lives. Applying positive psychology in a course of affective education

in Taiwan, Wang and Ku, 2010 also found that teaching explicitly about emotions

produce positive behavioural changes in children. By integrating these techniques with

the teaching of critical thinking, including practices in a natural environment, children

not only apply what they learn to solve problems in the classroom, but in family and

community life as well (Oswald, 2010; Santrock, 2006; Yeung, 2002). However, the

present research do not explain all the existing relation between emotion and thinking,

so more research the understanding and evaluation of relationships between positive

emotions and critical thinking is needed. Indeed, Seligman, Ernst, Gilham, Reivich and

Linkings (2009) used positive psychology on education to develop on students character

of strengths the allowed can them to conduct a positive critical thinking in order to solve

problems. Through better understanding their emotions, the child is not only comforted

to learn how to guide the thinking process and understand what is happening, but can

also deal with problems securely having greater clarity while trying as many solutions

as possible, capturing the true essence of sustainable development (Monroe, Andrews &

Biedenweg, 2007; Yang, Lam & Wong, 2010).

The main message of this study is that generated empirical evidence to both

national (Miranda, 2005; Jelbes y Zamora, 2006) and international work (Hofreiter et

al., 2007) that highlights the positive effects to individuals (students) and groups

(teachers) of critical thinking and affectivity in the school system (Santrock, 2006,

Yeung, 2002). We propose that if this element is incorporated in the curricular system,

it would allow students a great potential for the solution of contemporaneous complex

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problems (e.g. environmental pollution) that require new and integrated solutions and

where teachers and students have an undeniable and timely responsibility.

Conclusions

We conclude that considering positive emotions and moral, as elements to drive critical

thinking; can greatly help students dealing with local environmental problems.

However, further studies are needed to assess effective strategies to deal with problems

on teacher receptivity. We also conclude that using emotions, moral and critical

thinking is a fast way to build environmental literacy, but that it cannot be reached by

students due to the current national educational system structure that stops critical

thinking from being used in the classroom.

Acknowledgments

We thank Elena Gessler, Fernando Jimenez and Judith Otárola for their active

participation in the research and the manuscript preparation.

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Documents

LOVE AND CRITICAL THINKING