Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming international conference on “Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce”. The conference is interdisciplinary, it will cover a diverse range of fields and perspectives on the development of critical thinking skills in different academic fields at universities and labour market institutions. Showcasing the holistic approach, the conference aims to explore the vital role of critical thinking in diverse academic disciplines and its significance in the ever-evolving landscape of labour market institutions.
The conference aims to bridge the gap between universities and labour market institutions, fostering a culture of critical thinking that thrives in the classroom and enhances professional growth in the workplace. This conference will serve as a platform for educators, researchers, and labour market professionals from diverse fields to explore innovative strategies, and share best practices and collaborate on integrating critical thinking skills into educational curricula.
Keynote speakers
Alistair Starling
Co-Founder and Managing Director of the European Diplomats
Luís Sebastião
Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Education, Director of the Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora
Dimitris Pnevmatikos
Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia
Erika Vaiginienė
Associate professor in the Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
Inga Jončienė
Head of Business Development at Alliance for Recruitment
Adam Mastandrea
Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Institute of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
Daiva Penkauskienė
Director of Modern Didactics Center, Associate Professor in the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Mykolas Romeris University
Sandra Kairė
Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
Kay Hemmerling
Dr Kay Hemmerling, Chairman at the Institute for Moral-Democratic Competence (IMDC e.V.)
Programme
Programme
Rūta Petkutė
Are Contemporary Universities Venues for Critical Thought? Conceptual and Empirical Insights
Are Contemporary Universities Venues for Critical Thought?
Conceptual and Empirical Insights
Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Abstract
Critical thinking historically has been recognised as a foundation of intellectual inquiry in the European continental academic tradition since Kant. Underpinned by the principle of academic freedom, the pursuit of critical thinking has accompanied the quest for truth and has been inseparable from the broader democratic project. In contemporary European higher education, critical thinking re-emerges as a generic competence, reflecting a ‘know-how’ approach that highlights the practical use of knowledge and skills in real-world and work contexts. The presentation focuses on exploring the historical and contemporary European approaches to critical thinking in the context of university education and discerning their similarities and differences. Furthermore, it examines the challenges of fostering critical thinking within contemporary Lithuanian universities. The presentation offers a conceptual analysis of universities’ historical role in nurturing critical thought and an overview of contemporary European higher education policy documents. Moreover, it draws on the findings of the broader research project, which explored Lithuanian academics’ responses to European higher education reforms, to draw valuable insights into the current state of critical thinking in Lithuanian universities.
Keywords: Critical thought, universities, European continental academic tradition, European higher education policy, generic competences, Lithuanian academics’ perspectives.
Biography
Dr. Rūta Petkutė is a researcher at Kaunas University of Technology, the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities. Her work combines the disciplines of higher education policy, critical university studies, sociology of knowledge, and the history of ideas. She also has expertise in life narrative research methodology, which she uses to gain an in-depth and contextual understanding of individual experiences of educational change. Email: .
