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
Evelina Burokė
Critical Thinking Beyond Disciplines: How to Measure the Immeasurable?
Critical Thinking Beyond Disciplines: How to Measure the Immeasurable?
Evelina Burokė
Insitute of Educational Sciences, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Abstract
Background: As the world faces complex global challenges, such as climate change and health crises, innovative and collaborative solutions are becoming increasingly urgent (Klein, 1990). This urgency highlights the role of interdisciplinarity in higher education institutions, positioning it not merely as an academic ideal but as an essential framework for addressing multifaceted problems. Despite its theoretical importance, a significant gap exists between the valorisation and practical application of interdisciplinarity in higher education.
Purpose: This presentation aims to bridge the existing gap by demonstrating how universities can effectively implement interdisciplinarity, transforming it from a conceptual ideal into a measurable, practice-oriented approach that enhances reflection, critical thinking, and communication skills as a means of interdisciplinary understanding across disciplines (Spelt 2009).
Methodology: The approach involved results from a pilot quantitative study employed in 2023 using the Interdisciplinary Understanding Questionnaire (IUQ) designed by Schijf et al. (2022). This instrument assessed Lithuanian students' understanding of interdisciplinary, focusing on their knowledge of various disciplinary paradigms, interdisciplinarity, and skills in communication, collaboration, reflection, and critical reflection.
Results: Preliminary findings indicate significant variations in students' understanding of interdisciplinary and critical reflection skills, highlighting disparities based on disciplinary backgrounds. The results suggest a correlational relationship between the level of understanding of interdisciplinary and the students' academic disciplines.
Conclusion: The study underscores the necessity for universities to adopt approaches to interdisciplinary beyond theoretical acknowledgement. By fostering an educational environment that genuinely integrates interdisciplinarity into the teaching and learning processes, universities can better equip students to tackle real-world problems effectively. This shift requires curricular adjustments and a cultural change within institutions to nurture critical and reflective thinking across disciplinary boundaries.
Keywords: Interdisciplinarity, higher education, critical thinking, educational strategies, quantitative research.
Biography
Evelina Burokė: PhD candidate at the Institute of Educational Sciences, Vilnius University, Lithuania. Evelina Burokė graduated from Vilnius University with a Bachelor's degree in South Asian Studies (2014) and a Master's degree in Contemporary Asian Studies (2016). Since 2013, she has been working in the field of education management. Her research interests include interdisciplinarity in higher education and changes in higher education policy and practice. Evelina is a member of the European Educational Research Association (EERA), the European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL), the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), the Global Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD Alliance), Lithuanian Educational Research
Association (LERA), and an expert on national and international projects. Email: .
