Justification of the Potential of Mathematics Education for the Development of Individuals’ Critical and Strategic Thinking

Abstract

The transformation of modern society and contemporary lifestyles highlights the importance of developing complex thinking skills, particularly critical and strategic thinking. The purpose of this article is to substantiate the need to increase attention to the modernization of methodological systems for teaching mathematics in higher education institutions in order to create conditions that foster the development of students’ critical and strategic thinking.

Based on a review of publications by Ukrainian and international researchers published between 2016 and 2026, the study demonstrates that insufficient attention has been paid in Ukraine to methods and instructional approaches aimed at developing students’ critical and strategic thinking in the process of studying mathematics. Students’ critical and strategic thinking does not develop automatically through the mathematics curriculum itself. Rather, its development requires specific pedagogical approaches that encourage students to construct arguments, ask questions, and engage in intellectually challenging learning tasks. Universities across Europe are increasingly establishing teaching and learning centers that support the development of not only critical but also strategic thinking. The study substantiates that fostering individuals’ critical and strategic thinking has become an urgent challenge for higher mathematics education, both in Ukraine and worldwide.

To adequately prepare future professionals for the challenges of the twenty-first century, further research is required to develop and experimentally validate instructional strategies for mathematics education that effectively promote the development of critical and strategic thinking. This necessitates a reconsideration of methodological approaches to mathematics teaching in higher education institutions.