Critical Thinking and Qatar’s Education For a New Era: Negotiating Possibilities

Abstract

In this essay, the authors use Foucauldian concepts to examine the State of Qatar’s unprecedented educational reform, Education For a New Era. One of the key components of this comprehensive reform centers on the development of students’ abilities to engage in critical and independent thought. Evoking Foucault’s concepts of regime of truth and metanarrative, the article examines the seemingly contradictory relationship between the Qatari Regime of Truth and the development of students’ critical thinking skills. The authors discuss the importance of embracing a language of possibility raising important educational issues and offering suggestions as to how educators might address these complex issues to increase the likelihood of the success of Education For a New Era.