UIC Barcelona hosted the event for the Women Leaders in Education (MLE) community, a forum dedicated to discussing critical thinking, with contributions from experts in pedagogy and neuroeducation. The session provided an opportunity for educators to present specific programmes focused on fostering critical thinking, which is a key priority for the organisation.

Ana María Farré, president and founder of MLE, opened the event. “We have a very broad network of members, with diverse profiles that foster cross-sector relationships across different areas of educational innovation,” she explained during her introduction. MLE initiated this gathering with the aim of analysing, questioning and collectively developing solutions to current educational and technological challenges, with a particular emphasis on cultivating critical thinking in learners from an early age.

The keynote address was delivered by Anna Forés, director of the Chair in Neuroeducation at the University of Barcelona and author of Los beneficios de la lectura en voz alta (The Benefits of Reading Aloud). According to Forés, “Children have been conditioned to meet adult expectations, without being taught how to think,” and she encouraged schools to teach “executive functions” such as “decision-making and planning”.

Lola Villar: “Children need to return to the cinema”

Lola Villar, pedagogical adviser at Platino Educa, spoke about cinema as a tool for promoting critical thinking. Villar advocates for cinema to be reintroduced as a collective activity for learners: “We’ve seen that children value debate, away from the isolation of their bedroom and screen; they reach places they’ve never been before, experience new emotions, and we see that they dare to explore topics they otherwise wouldn’t,” she explained. Watching films “encourages critical thinking and serves as a protective factor for mental wellbeing in a society that has become desensitised,” she added.

Critical thinking at home, too

Carla Vidal, lecturer in Language and Literature Education at the Faculty of Education Sciences at UIC Barcelona, emphasised that, in addition to school, “critical thinking must be present at home” and that the family should be a space “not for judgement, but for questioning”. Vidal expressed support for incorporating “thinking routine strategies” into classrooms to enable learners “to go further”.

Bringing philosophy to children

Philosophy teacher Claudia López Pérez presented her project Sapere Aude – a hybrid model suitable for any child from the age of three, combining classical philosophy with contemporary challenges. “Philosophy is emancipatory; it has a holistic impact on the individual; it doesn’t just transmit knowledge,” she explained during her talk. On the topic of critical thinking, López addressed the issue of artificial intelligence. “If we delegate our thinking to it, we will be imprisoned.” All speakers agreed that promoting critical thinking “contributes to the freedom of society as a whole”.

The session also featured Estefanía de Anta, a specialist in critical thinking and media literacy in digital environments, who stated that “critical thinking is intrinsic to education” and called for the creation of spaces “where people learn to dialogue and listen” at a time when “there is so much misinformation”.

The event concluded with a lively debate among attendees, covering topics such as young people’s relationships with their parents and their news consumption habits – which are largely shaped by social media. The event was supported by Grupo MT and sponsored by Fundación Repsol.

In line with its social commitment, UIC Barcelona collaborated in this session, which champions critical thinking and person-centred education. In addition to the Faculty of Education Sciences, which offers undergraduate degrees in Pre-Primary and Primary Education, UIC Barcelona is home to the Institute for Culture and Thought (CIP), which promotes cross-disciplinary humanistic education, research and reflection within the University. CIP contributes to the development of engaged citizens with depth of thought and a holistic understanding of reality. Its mission is to promote person-centred education, grounded in Christian humanism, and it highlights values such as truth, freedom and service.