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View all search resultsEducation should engender critical thinkers
Vocational schools may train obedient workers, but without critical thinking, they risk producing a generation of citizens who can only follow orders.
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Students take part in an automotive training course on April 13, 2026, at a private vocational school in Jakarta. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
D
uring a recent visit to a vocational secondary school, I observed a rigid emphasis on discipline, appearance and cleanliness enforced through directive leadership. These priorities serve legitimate ends, particularly where physical safety hinges on strict adherence to protocol.
For years I have advocated for vocational education, precisely because it provides a reliable gateway to employment for families who cannot afford prolonged income uncertainty.
Training a competent factory floor operator is an achievement. Yet orderly conduct and job readiness do not indicate whether a graduate can think critically. Schools also prepare citizens whose duties extend well beyond the workplace.
I left wondering whether I had allowed occupational placement to stand as a sufficient measure of educational success.
Education must teach people both how to think and what to do. Critical thinking demands sufficient domain knowledge to interrogate a claim, test its underlying logic and revise a conclusion when evidence demands it. Knowing what action to take also requires weighing consequences for others.
A conformist student merely delivers the expected answer; a critical thinker defends why that answer holds merit or demonstrates why it should be challenged.
My own teaching exposed a related difficulty. Following entrepreneurship education at Babson College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, coupled with industry experience, I taught over 16 cohorts, each lasting one semester.
