When Knowing Is Not Enough: EFL Teachers’ Knowledge, Self‐Efficacy and Professional Development in Critical Thinking Instruction

ABSTRACT

Critical thinking (CT) is increasingly recognised as a vital educational goal, yet little is known about how EFL teachers conceptualise CT and develop confidence in teaching it. This study investigated how Japanese high school EFL teachers made sense of CT and what shapes their self‐efficacy for CT instruction. Using teacher language awareness as an interpretive lens, this study combined an online survey ( N = 82) with follow‐up interviews ( N = 17). Findings suggested that teachers recognised key elements of CT, but their conceptions were often partial. Overall self‐efficacy was moderate: teachers felt comparatively confident in diagnosing and explaining students’ CT‐related difficulties, but less confident in promoting CT more broadly or strengthening students’ confidence. Self‐efficacy appeared to be shaped more by prior experiences and anticipated student reactions than by CT knowledge alone. These results point to a disjunction between teachers’ knowledge and confidence, highlighting a need for professional development that supports a fuller understanding of CT and its scaffolded enactment through classroom language practices. More broadly, the study shows how cultural norms, curricular expectations and teacher beliefs shape CT instruction, with implications for professional development that offers feasible classroom models, opportunities for reflection and context‐sensitive support for implementation.