Creativity as a Pedagogical Premise of Critical Thinking and Judgement

Critical thinking and judgement are skills to be promoted, a task entrusted primarily to the school. Because of this task, the school institution is committed to designing and organising experiences that can nurture and exercise these skills. It is, however, a task that requires justification before it can be taken on as a responsibility by the various figures involved (school managers, teachers and parents). In the absence of a founding premise, this task might not be assumed or might be delegated, seriously compromising the formation of those skills fundamental for the future exercise of active citizenship. This chapter seeks to justify the need to promote critical thinking and the capacity for judgement by recognising creativity as a founding premise. The idea of creativity, in fact, implies the possibility of a change that can only be brought about by human capabilities to think of reality as it could be. These capabilities enable the human being to transform the natural order of things and propose a properly human order, leading to a creative duty to which all must be educated so that the change can be meaningful for humanity.