PLATO’S DIALECTICS AND FREIRE’S DECODIFICATION FOR CRITICAL THINKING PEDAGOGY IN THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Abstract

Critical thinking is vital in knowledge acquisition, human development and sustainability. The Nigeria National Policy on Education emphasises the spirit of enquiry and creativity as well as scientific, critical and reflective thinking. However, the current educational practice in Nigeria indicates that teachers are deficient in critical thinking pedagogy, which accounts for the inability of learners to develop reflective thinking. Past studies in Philosophy of Education largely focused on indoctrination and authoritarianism with little emphasis on the utility of philosophical models like dialectics and decodification that could promote critical thinking. This study, therefore, was designed to develop a teaching method that combines critical thinking with teaching and learning processes based on the philosophies of Plato and Freire. The Philosophical Research Method was employed. The following modes of critical thinking were adopted: speculative, to identify the major concepts; analytic, to critique the concepts of pedagogy and Nigerian educational practice; and prescriptive, for presentation of the theoretical approaches. Plato’s dialectics and Freire’s idea of decodification were chosen for their direct link to the practice of teaching. These models were critically analysed. Indoctrination in teaching is a process whereby teacher lures learners to accept ideas, while authoritarianism is forcing teacher’s idea on learners. Both pedagogies do not encourage creativity. Freire described such practice as a form of banking concept of education whereby learners are treated like a receptacle tank for knowledge deposit. Plato’s dialectics emphasises mutual dialogue as a channel through which knowledge could be impacted by a triadic cycle of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. The process allows teacher and learner to critique curriculum content before drawing knowledgeable conclusion. Freire’s concept of decodification in educational practice serves as alternative to the banking concept of education. Decodification implies reading the world with words, that is, problemitising social condition to become subject of dialogue in teaching and learning processes. Both philosophers discouraged the teacher-centred pedagogy attributed to indoctrination and authoritarianism. Learner-centred pedagogy is articulated through praxis that encouraged critical thinking skills. It emphasises that the skill, if properly taught, could be a major catalyst for education to drive development and sustainability. Authoritarianism and indoctrination introduce an autocratic setting, while dialectics and decodification facilitate a democratic ambience in the classroom. Plato’s dialectics and Freire’s decodification provide an alternative strategy for the effective deployment of critical thinking in teaching and learning. These pedagogic models could assist both teachers and learners in knowledge building by changing the orientation from teacher-centred to learner-centred pedagogy.