Thinking Skills – Who Needs Them? by Dr Hazman Shah Abdullah

Employers have clearly, loudly, repeatedly, and globally asked for more thinking skills. WEF and other surveys have pointed to this and other human skills as the insulation against the onslaught of automation, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is now a standard feature of the national quality and qualifications framework. All universities and academic programmes proclaim their graduates are schooled in thinking skills and therefore ready to face the turbulent world of work. The commonalities and consensus end here.

There is a plethora of thinking skills that have emerged to compete for a space in the curriculum - thinking skills, critical thinking skills, systematic thinking skills, creative thinking skills, innovative thinking skills, design thinking skills, lateral thinking skills, scientific thinking skills, liberal thinking etc. The proponents insist that theirs is unique and superior to others. Few admit that it is complementary or just a fresh new label or branding. Within this array of thinking products, many are about the processes, protocols, and techniques, and others are also about how and what to think.

Where do our Malaysian universities sit on this spectrum? All programmes irrespective of level in higher education institutions (HEIs) must address cognitive skills as indicated under the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF). In addition, programmes offer courses in critical thinking or design thinking, and creative thinking and some old fashion ones offer logic. Although not widely recognised all programmes based on their respective key disciplines teach thinking according to that discipline. Law, economics, engineering, sciences, psychology, sociology, political science, business studies, art and design, theology, arts, humanities etc. all have a discipline-based way of thinking about issues, problems, and solutions. Each places blinds on the brain’s eye. Is this as well recognised as part of the thinking skills? I don’t quite think so.

Then you have the university administration powerfully teaching students about thinking. It teaches that students should think more about their studies and show their thinking prowess to their lecturers but not to their university chiefs by questioning fees, housing, transportation, freedom of speech and cultural policies. What it means, basically is, do not think too deeply about the institution where you are learning how to think critically. Some “recalcitrant” students have challenged the university policies in the courts and won! But these, it is alleged, are minds and thinking poisoned by their teachers.

The student affairs departments, especially in public universities, but not limited to them, teach the students to think about thanking the government of the day for the blessings they have received. Think of your own race, religion, and culture, they demand of students. Undermining the hand that feeds is not mature or good thinking. In fact, as we speak, the student affairs in all public universities are in overdrive mode speaking loudly, silently and in some cases, threateningly about liberal thinking, which is a by-product of thinking skills. These threats are election priming, a time to shut down all thinking.

So, the question is - at the confluence of these confusing thinking skills lessons in a university, what thinking skills will or can emerge supreme? Will the employers like it? Maybe it is time for some critical thinking on thinking skills or are they creative thinking skills or scientific thinking skills. I am confused, Aren’t you?