Human Resources Moored in Critical Thinking: The Challenge of the 21st Century

By Gladys P. Mangiduyos

Philippine educational system has been crippled. The state of

corruption has largely been the reason why educational system is corrupted.
Greed and arrogance flourish. Education’s steadfast commitment to prepare
today’s generation to meet the 21st century shall lead every educator in
discovering how the 21st century skills are brought out in the learners.
Educators who have been endowed with incurable passion to teach shall
continuously be evaluated and equipped with critical thinking skills for the
interests of the society.

Wesleyan University-Philippines through the Instructional Resources

Center is firm in its resolve to embrace the future being invested in. At this age
of technology-propelled changes, the human resources’ training is very
critical. It shows how immediate and how essential to cultivate true
intellectual discipline and self reflection. This paper presents a framework on
how vital critical thinking is in optimizing human resources for tomorrow’s
world. The framework further conveys how powerful mooring is in shaping the
consciousness of the learners, thereby fulfilling the ends Education dream to
achieve.

Introduction

Good education makes good people, and good people expectedly should act nobly. If
people don’t act that way, did education fail?

Education comes from 'educere', a Latin word meaning to draw out. The task of an
educator is to draw out the values which are inherent in a human being.
(http://www.sathyasaiehv.org.uk/educare.htm) Many will agree that teaching stands out as a
noble trade because an educator brings out the best in the learner rather than impose anything
from outside. It is seeking the highest and infinite possibilities within.

Recorded teachers during the dawn of civilization are the philosophers of the time.
Students of Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Socrates and other great men in the ancient times bore
the mark and influence of their respective mentors. Passed unto them are the springs of
wisdom which in turn were passed on to the succeeding learners through the ages. These great
mentors, however, differ in a number of ideas and theories although with respect to the subject
of morals and ethics, they all dwell on a common ground.

In 2008, the President of Finland succinctly said that the three keys to development are
education, education, and education. Emphasizing the foundation for access to knowledge and
innovation, and should provide the basis for a more knowledge-based and innovative
economy. (UNCTAD XII, 2008) Gauging from how Finland stands today, it might be safe to

1
say that its leaders, the president in particular, have harnessed all and everything education has
equipped them and put them to good use.

In the vast range of diversified socio-economic, cultural and political Asian contexts,
cooperation is vital not only for economic and political development but to actualize the
mission of education. UNESCO’s endeavour to link countries with one another to discover
and share potential methods and innovations in the learning process of the individual is not
just a bridge–building effort, its return will eventually spell the benefits derived after the
human skills are properly honed and utilized. The person, now a product of good education
becomes the vital link to the community’s or the country’s march to progress. This paper
presents a framework on how powerful human capital moored in critical thinking is based on
the three (3) initial assessment studies made.

The Crippling Philippines and the Mission of Education

Philippines despite its crippling situation persists to fulfill the mission of education.
Crippling because of the corruption that pervades in many parts of society.

Several studies had shown the tremendous impact of corruption not only in the
economy but in the educational system as well. (Balboa and Takenaka, 2010) They said that
enormous portion of government resources are lost and wasted due to corrupt activities. Have
the concerned officials ever done something yet to address the issue? Several mechanisms
have been recommended to combat this but the problem continues to persist. A deep
understanding of the broad picture of corruption and development, particularly of the social
and economic forces in the Philippines, is crucial in crafting a redress of this chronic malady.

According to them several studies had been devoted to understand the Philippines’
apparently downhill fight against corruption. Analysts attribute this to historical colonial
legacies, aggravated by the corrupt leaders that created the crony capitalist system and the
continuing presence of patronage politics and weak institutions that lack enough safeguards
against abuse.

Gonzales (2010) clearly stated that corruption, linked theoretically and empirically to
low levels of democracy and governance, and to economic underdevelopment, has been
identified by leading international institutions as one of the principal, if not the foremost, 
economic problems of the Philippines. High levels of corruption in the Philippines have also
been attributed to cultural factors. In the study of Quah (2003) he stated that corruption has
flourished in the Philippines because of the low rate of detection of corrupt offences and the
low probability of punishment for such offences. He mentioned in his paper that Senior
Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore has attributed the lack of punishment of corrupt leaders
for their corrupt activities to the "soft, forgiving culture" of the Philippines. This has made the
Philippine educational system crippled, and ailing, unable to smoothly pursue its mission.

Pamintuan (2008) firmly stated that when there is corruption at the top, it becomes
nearly impossible to eradicate corruption at the lower level of government. There is no moral

2
ascendancy to demand honesty, decency, transparency. And where there is bad governance, it
becomes harder to liberate people from the shackles of poverty. When and how will the
mission of education, which is to awaken people to the infinite possibilities of growth and
change that exist within them, be actualized?

Education is designed to liberate people, helping them to be critical, creative, free,

active, and responsible members of society. (Hope and Timmel, 1991, cited in Lang, 2007)
Olaniyan and Okemakinde, (2008) indicated that the principal mechanism for developing
human knowledge is the education system, investing huge on education is not only to impact
knowledge and skills but also to impart values, ideas, attitudes and aspirations which may be
in the nation’s best developmental interest.

Complacency and indifference within the education system are among the invisible
stumbling blocks along the road traversed by the learners. Yet the effect on the training is
damaging.

Human Resources

The several higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines are the reservoir of
the country’s knowledge workers and professionals. They are crucial resources for nation
building. They are potential frontline operators and managers of every sector. Graduates of
HEIs will soon take leadership in different institutions, this is why their formation is critical.

Economists regard education as a capital good (Olaniyan and Okemakinde, 2008,) it

can be used to develop the human resources necessary for economic and social
transformation. The focus on education as a capital good relates to the concept of human
capital, which emphasizes that the development of skills is an important factor in production
activities. It is widely accepted that education creates improved citizens and helps to upgrade
the general standard of living in a society. They stated that most economists agree that it is
human resources of nation, not its capital nor its material resources that ultimately determine
the character and pace of its economic and social development. It was pointed in that paper
that human resources constitute the ultimate basis of wealth of nations. Capital and natural
resources are passive factors of production, human beings are the active agencies who
accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build social, economic and political
organization, and carry forward national development. (Psacharopoulos and Woodhall, 1997)

Education is not merely to impart literacy and computational skills so that a person
acquires a marketable asset upon graduation. Its objective is to give a person the tools to
realize his/her potential as human being. The future depends on these humanized persons.
Having been into Curriculum and Instruction for a decade now, it has opened a lot of
doors to the researcher in discovering what the real context of educational system is. It is so
immediate and essential for the current learners to cultivate true intellectual discipline and self
reflection. At this age of technology-propelled changes, the educators’ supervision is very
critical. Graduates will someday take leadership in different institutions, this is why such
understanding is crucial. The one should not question what is said or done sort of a slogan is
a strong part of the culture, and it has become a part of the educative process which is very

3
close to the spoon-fed system of instruction that is still practiced by many schools in the
country. A very few progressive schools however has veered away from the system and
became conscious in employing critical thinking skills.

Technology-propelled Environment / Learning in the 21st Century

Conole et al. (2008, cited in Brockbank and McGill, 2007) investigated how university
students’ learning patterns are influenced by the availability of technology-enhanced learning
environment. They identified eight factors that characterise the changing nature of studying:
pervasive, personalised, niche, adaptive, organised, transferable, time and space boundaries,
changing working patterns, and integrated. These require combining old and new methods,
higher-level skills such as evaluation and synthesis are necessary to make sense of their
complex technological-enriched learning environment. and proper use of tools in a
combination of ways to suit individual needs, missing and matching and switching between
media, sites, tools, content.

The study showed that the generation of new millennium learners displays complex
learning styles that are shaped by the ubiquity, accessibility and ease of use of digital
resources. Conole, et al (2008) emphasized that compared to prior generations of learners,
they are digitally literate, they think more visually and in a nonlinear manner, they practise
multitasking and give preference to multimedia environments.

To cope with the demands of a digital society and to counterbalance the deficiencies of
their natural learning styles, learners need additional skills to react to the challenges of the 21 st
century. Siemens (2006, cited in Brockbank and McGill, 2007)) lists the following skills: (1)
Anchoring: Staying focused on important tasks while undergoing a deluge of distractions; (2)
Filtering: Managing knowledge flow and extracting important elements; (3) Connecting with
each other: Building networks in order to continue to stay current and informed; (4) Being
Human Together: Interacting at a human, not only utilitarian, level to form social spaces. (5)
Creating and Deriving Meaning: Understanding implications, comprehending meaning and
impact; (6) Evaluation and Authentication: Determining the value of knowledge and ensuring
authenticity; (7) Altered Processes of Validation: Validating people and ideas within
appropriate context; (8) Critical and Creative Thinking; (9) Pattern Recognition; (10)
Navigate Knowledge Landscape: Navigating between repositories, people, technology, and
ideas while achieving intended purposes; (11) Acceptance of Uncertainty: Balancing what is
known with the unknown to see how existing knowledge relates to what we do not know; (12)
Contextualizing.

Mastery of the aforementioned skills, therefore, ensures the certainty and correctness
of the individual’s response to a given situation.

Why Moor in Critical Thinking?

A vessel is said to be moored when it is tied to a fixed object Mooring by permanent

anchor can be accomplished by the use of a permanent anchor at the bottom of a waterway
with a rode (a line, cable, or chain) running to a buoy on the surface. This allows a person on

4
the vessel to connect to the anchor. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooring) Anyone who is
moored is anchored and focused even amidst a deluge of distractions.

Persons view and judge things using certain paradigms which have been structured
and instilled in them by the kind of education they had. This paradigm shaped their
consciousness. This enables them to adhere to anything, this enables them to persist not to get
corrupted/contaminated by any self serving acts or otherwise.

“We understand the way we have been made to understand. And we embrace
that understanding. ” - John Adams in the film Amistad
Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. Hu-
man resources moored in critical thinking grow from an accurate understanding of current is-
sues – a snapshot of the current reality. Critical thinking methods can be used to make sure
this snapshot is accurate and in focus. Clear thinking about the current reality is a prerequisite
to moving forward to a new future.
Thinking is a natural process, but left to itself, it is often biased, distorted, partial, un-
informed, and potentially prejudiced; excellence in thought must be cultivated (Scriven and
Paul, 2004). Going through the rigors of true intellectual discipline is a process. As Klinker
(2006) puts it, critical thinking is the disciplined process of judgment through interpretation,
analysis, evaluation, and inference. Critical thinkers seek ways to train their minds to recog-
nize and minimize errors, blunders, and distortions. They strive for relevance, precision, and
accuracy. They understand that good thinking involves affective and cognitive skills and
strategies. Within a culture that embraces scientific reasoning and logical deduction, the craft
of critical thinking is an essential part of leadership, which is why most educational leadership
programs train school administrators in that reasoning process.

The Context of Critical Thinking

The promotion of active and critical learning is a hot topic in the West, with a growing
literature on critical thinking and curricula innovations (Meyers, 1986, cited in Richmond,
2007.) Numerous national reports have shown that instruction designed to improve the
thinking process is desperately needed. The United States has been described as a "nation at
risk" because they are failing to provide students with the most essential component of
education--instruction that fosters the development of the ability to think (Halpern,1997, cited
in Kinkler,2006). Moreover, The Education Commission of the States reached a similar
sobering conclusion in its report: "The pattern is clear: the percentage of students achieving
higher order skills is declining" (Baron & Sternberg, 1987 cited in Kinkler, 2006).

Kwang, (2001, cited in Richmond, 2007) explained why passive education is deeply
set in Asian culture. Respect and obedience to parents is emphasized because it is considered
desirable. He postulated that literature has long pointed out that passivity is rooted to social
customs which made the teacher as the “giver of knowledge” and the student an “obedient
receptacle.”

5
 Tusalem (2006) stated that the condition of Philippine society should then lead
educators to critically ponder if they have done their moral obligation. He emphasized that
two questions shall be raised: first, were we able to provide an education that is instructive of
the individual’s responsibility to society?; second, have we provided them an attitude that
promotes societal change? Two questions that require to instill a questioning mind - that
which does not only accept what is but what ought to be.

In the paper presented by Manalo (2008) entitled Building Pathways Toward Peace:
A Vision of UNESCO in the 21st Century, she said:
The situation augurs the need for developing critical thinking skills among the
students, and for the teachers to be able to guide them in their information
search and processing. Critical thinking thus becomes an integral component
of basic learning skills. The manner of incorporating thinking skills into the
learning curriculum, the appropriate materials that can be used for delivery,
the cultural aspects of developing thinking skills among younger learners, etc.
are issues that can be subjects of systematic inquiry.

Critical thinking is clearly stipulated and encouraged in the Constitution of the

Philippines, Article 14 Section 3 # 2:

…they shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity,

respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the
historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship,
strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal
discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and
technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.

It is encouraged but as Scriven (1985) puts it, for all the apparent focus on critical
thinking, it is often either not well understood, or it is not presented in a way that encourages
people to use it

Facione (2008) said that the ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed,
trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal
biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in com-
plex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria,
focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the
circumstances of inquiry permit. 

Reach Out To Teach: The Modest Attempt

In line with the Philippines’ quest to stand up, Wesleyan University-Philippines

(WUP), through the Instructional Resources Center (IRC), is firm in its resolve that human
capital moored in critical thinking is vital to optimizing full human development for the 21st
century.

6
 Four years ago, the IRC was launched. Its endeavour is to address instructional issues.
It will equip teachers with training and resources needed for effective teaching and facilitating
using instructional resources and procedures grounded in research. It has an attempt to
oversee instruction, produce and develop learning materials (indigenous, recycled and
technology-based) and offer training-workshops on the 21st century skills with critical
thinking and technology in pedagogy as focus areas. IRC named this attempt Reach Out To
Teach.

Three Initial Assessment Studies

In the venture of offering the focus areas, the researcher eventually embarked on three
initial assessment studies. The first one was to discover the concepts of students on critical
thinking. Ten students from each college with a total of seventy (70) were asked to define the
concept of critical thinking. Phase 1 of the study sought to answer How do the students
explain the concept of critical thinking? This has determined the extent to which the tools and
language of critical thinking have come to play an important role in the way they think about
teaching and learning.
Results
Using Grounded Theory (GT) by Glaser (1965), critical thinking core concepts that
emerged in the study are ability, virtue and skill which sprang from the following concepts:
deep analysis, problem solving skill, decision making skill, fair judgment/ judiciousness,
systems thinking, common sense, conscientiousness. However, few concepts that have
surfaced do not fall under these categories which are rush thinking, wrong judgment, and
criticizing.
It is apparent that while some WUP students have the critical thinking concepts, few
concepts have emerged which signify the misconception of the skill. The first phase of the
study recommended the following: 1) Critical thinking concept shall be deduced from more
respondents using GT; and 2) Faculty members shall be the next cases in order to get more
concepts to come up with a framework in teaching and learning process. Phase 2 of the study
is on the process which will answer What are the WU-P students’ assessment on the evidence
of critical thinking among faculty and students during classroom interactions?
On its first two years, the researcher has introduced Critical Thinking in Pedagogy to
the academic and administrative heads, faculty & staff, spiritual ministers and Education
students. Then in 2008, the training was extended to public school teachers.
In 2009, a unified effort has emerged, Six (6) colleges and two (2) departments have
collaborated with the IRC to offer a five-year unified extension and outreach program for free.
Its main purpose is to reach out for the outside workforce and introduce them to the 21 st
Century Skills with the same focus areas with Basics of Human Resource Management and
Strategic Planning. Workforce from the Department of Education, Philippine National Police,
and the United Methodist Church were given the slots. Each trainee is provided a training kit,
2 snacks and upon completion of the three Saturday training-workshop, a certificate. Each

7
participant is allotted $3.40 or PhP150.00. While this is offered to outside community, the
center has continued to train the basic education faculty and students. As of this moment,
about two hundred persons have been trained.

To determine the impact of the Reach Out To Teach program to outside workforce, an
initial assessment was done. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: How
may the respondents evaluate the relevance of the focus areas of the program? What is the
impact of the training- workshop to them?

Descriptive method was used for this formative assessment study utilizing the
evaluation forms filled up by the 100 participants of the training-workshop. An open-ended
question containing remarks/comments of the participants were solicited and form as basis for
discussion of the study. The information form submitted by each participant was used to
determine the profile of respondents.

Results

Table 1 Summary of Relevance of the Program Focus Areas

Focus Areas WM Descriptive Evaluation

21 Century Skills
st
4.34 Very Relevant
Critical Thinking in Pedagogy 4.50 Very Relevant
Technology in Pedagogy 4.31 Very Relevant
Human Resource Manage- 4.02 Relevant
ment
Strategic Planning Basics 3.99 Relevant

The table summarizes the relevance of the focus areas. Surprisingly, comments and
suggestions for more avenues for critical thinking skill cultivation have emerged. Participants
were also asked to suggest topics which they think will make them perform their duties
effectively and efficiently. Critical thinking skill ranked the highest.

Excerpts from the Narrative Comments

Critical Thinking can be considered as the “treasure of today”. It is timely and

appropriate with our progressive world, a real anchor to the individual’s living
enhanced by the Christian foundation.

I have been in critical thinking already in my daily undertaking. However, it is

only now that I have appreciated the need for a more careful and deep analysis
before doing any action, for a better result.

Critical thinking is a mental calisthenics that eventually make a person to be

analytical and prudent in planning things. An effective tool in decision making.

The ideas are enriching. I became all the more aware of the need to be cautious
and prudent in facing the things in life.

8
 Critical Thinking seminar helps me personally to think, and examine about
everything. Especially as a church manager, it helps me broaden my
understanding to evaluate, analyze, and be creative to be able to respond to the
issues that concerns the church as a whole. This training has a powerful impact.

Critical thinking is a very interesting tool in life that must be put into practice
for a better society.

It’s not just “what, but why”. Critical thinkers are the likely achievers.

I’m very impressed with what we learned today. Now I know a lot. Thinking
twice before deciding is always better.

Critical Thinking is a way to enlightenment. The more we are enlightened the

more we sum up the things to consider before we decide. Critical Thinking plus
action gets better result. It is another form of empowerment.

Very nice method of teaching wherein critical thinking and innovation leads us
to be effective and efficient in the performance of our duties and obligations.

I learned many things from the training. Critical Thinking method is not only in
the mind but also, it is the totality and wholeness of a person. If learned and
practiced properly, students will be functionally literate.

I would say that teachers who participated in this training are now better
equipped with 21st century skills which they need nowadays to impart knowledge
to the learners more effectively. The training have been really helpful, and we
are really lucky to avail of this opportunity.

The statements above have proven that cultivating critical thinking skills is imperative.
It requires thoughtful analysis about our world and the need for its betterment in all aspects of
life. It involves seeing the world with a political lens, developing or enhancing one’s social
awareness and sense of social justice (Brookefield, 2006.) Thinking critically extends beyond
cognitive or intellectual exercises. The program has tremendous impact. Participants are em-
powered to figure things out and equipped with questioning mind which does not only con-
form but do what they ought to do.

The third initial study was for the basic education faculty and students who have been
trained. This time, the study was done to determine the impact of critical-thinking workshop.

The instrument used is a Likert-scale type which is composed of 20 items, for which
11 are positive (1,2,3,5,6,7,10,11,13,14, and 16) and 9 are negative (4,8,9,12,15,17,18,19 and
20). It also has an open-ended question asking why critical thinking is important.

9
Results
Table 2 Summary of the Impact of Critical Thinking Training-Workshop

  Weighted Mean
Positive Statements 4.33
Negative Statements 2.25
Overall Weighted
3.29
Mean

The participants exhibited positive attitudes toward the impact of Critical Thinking
training-workshop to them. As emphasized earlier by Scriven (1985,) training in critical
thinking should be the primary task of education. More often than not, critical thinking is
perceived wrongly. Either not well understood or it gives a wrong idea of defiance to what is
normal. Hence, learners are not imparted attitudes that will change their consciousness or
paradigms.

Excerpts from the Narrative Answers

Because critical thinking achieves the change we want in our world.

Because critical thinking helps us improve our views in life and it helps us to
decide better.

Because it helps a person to make decisions correctly and to know what is right
from wrong and doing what is right.

It allows as to think and formulate questions that to deepen understanding.

It helps to be more careful and impartial before arriving at a decision or

conclusion.

It leads us to self reflection.

It helps you to be a better, real and careful person.

It helps you to avoid the attitude of being judgemental and impulsive person.

It is essential for the individual to develop a clear understanding of what result

awaits certain action.

Very necessary especially to a leader whose lifestyle should be a good model both
at home and in the community to which he aspires to reform.

Critical thinking is very important because it leads every human being towards the
right way or path to become a better member of society.

10
 Critical thinking is needed because here your character is mirrored in your
actions. It is likewise important to achieve specific goals.

We need to have critical thinking, because it can help us to become a good citizen
in our community and to become good children of God.

Because critical thinking is the empowerment gained in correctly choosing which is

right and wrong.

The statements above have proven why critical thinking is important. Critical thinking
is an important and necessary skill because it is required in the workplace, it can help you deal
with mental and spiritual questions, and it can be used to evaluate people, policies, and
institutions, thereby avoiding social problems (Hatcher and Spencer, 2005).

Intel emphasized that in order for today’s students to be successful in this

environment, schools must provide them with more than basic skills. Students must become
proficient at 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, use
of technology, self-direction, and communication.  

The Emerging Framework: Human Resources Moored in Critical Thinking

Creates Balance  

Having been moored in critical thinking, there will be a balance between Competence
and Character. Human resources will be both effective and affective.
Hope and Timmel (1991) said that development and education are first of all about lib-
erating people from all that holds them back from a full human life. There has to be a balance
between brilliance and intellectual discipline with self reflection. One trainee has emphasized
that critical thinking method is not only in the mind but the totality and wholeness of a person.
If learned and practiced properly, people will be functionally literate.
Balance makes a person function well. Balance is a person's ability to stand upright
or maintain a center of gravity without swaying to the left or right. If a person has good bal-
ance he can accomplish the movements of sitting, standing, walking, and reaching safely.
The total human being is required to be considered. Brilliance and competence shall be
emphasised at the expense of other parts of our humanness – our heart, body, spirit and emo-
tions. Only a continuing development in our level of consciousness can restore this balance.
The following framework shows the components of a balance and the outcome when a
balance is pursued.

11
 Moored in Critical Thinking:
A Balance of Heart, Head, Hands, and Habits

Competence Character
Leadership & Management Spirituality with Responsibility
Knowledge as wisdom and Sensitivity

Head & Hands Heart & Habits

{Effective} {Affective}

Human resources are critical thinkers, competent and excellent in

character, judicious in all judgments, with humility, fortitude and integrity

© design alan chapman 2001-7.

Figure 1 Emerging Framework

Blanchard & Hodges (2006) clearly show the significance of the balance of head,
heart, hands, and habits. Head contains the beliefs about leadership and influencing others.
Heart refers to the intentions and motivations. Hands are the methods on how things will be
executed. Habits are the daily disciplines that will keep the leader focused on his tasks and
mission.
The vital thing that transcends all these is Critical Thinking. John McPeck, another
leader in this field, views critical thinking as the skill and propensity to engage in an activity
with reflective skepticism within the context of a discipline and the knowledge within a given
field. Halonen (2007) improved it by saying critical thinking is the propensity and skills to
engage in an activity with reflective skepticism focused on deciding what to reasonably
believe or do. From this it can be seen critical thinking has two central components. The first,
a “reason assessment” component involves the abilities and skills relevant to the proper
understanding and evaluations of reasons, claims, and arguments; The second, a “critical

12
spirit” component that is characterized by a propensity to apply their critical thinking skills.
(McKown, 2007)
Seeking this balance, the scale has a balance of competence and character. The per-
son, who persists to develop in her/his consciousness this balance, shall be both effective and
affective.
Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are
visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and
move decision making down into the organization. Political leaders clarify what they want
and what they can get; they assess the distribution of power and interests; they build linkages
to other stakeholders, use persuasion first, then use negotiation and coercion only if necessary.
Symbolic leaders view organizations as a stage or theater to play certain roles and give
impressions; these leaders use symbols to capture attention; they try to frame experience by
providing plausible interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate a vision.
Giving sufficient attention to both areas, the first scale pan is a Competence scale pan.
It contains the Leadership and Management skills. Good leaders are made not born. If you
have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop
through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982,
cited in Bolman 2001.) Leaders shall continually work and study to improve their leadership
skills. This also contains knowledge as wisdom. Kempston (2001) emphasized that in order
to see how leverage knowledge management works in the learning organization, leaders need
to see how the face of knowledge changes, and it depends on the level of personal maturity. A
leader shall possess knowledge as wisdom. Knowledge is relational, at a global level, it is
practical wisdom increasing the quality of human life. Personal values awareness is essential.
The consequences are of concern at an ethical, global and stewardship level.
The other one is a Character scale pan. It contains Spirituality with Responsibility
and Sensitivity  An inner revolution is being called for in business today - a return to our spir-
itual roots, to our inner source of spirituality - and leading our businesses through a funda-
mental change from that place (Miller and Miller, 2006) They emphasized that leaders need to
go beyond the technical aspects of running a good and profitable business to experience self
reflection. That means returning to spiritual roots, to inner source of spirituality.
With this resolve, the Millers (2006) reminded the leaders and managers that all are
spiritual beings. That to unleash the whole capability of the individual - mind, body and spirit,
gives enormous power to the organization., empowering members of the organization to
devote their entire beings to the ultimate purpose for which the organization exists, which is to
serve others.
Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see in the world.” While many leaders speak
of creativity, innovation, commitment, empowerment and self-management, many organisa-
tions are still waiting for the exemplary role models. However, character is only part of the
equation. Leaders of character must also have a strong, deeply integrated leadership frame-
work, philosophy and practice to meet tomorrow’s leadership demands.

13
 With a balance of head, heart, hands, and habits with critical thinking, human re-
sources, with wisdom, are empowered to think what ought to be done rather than just con-
form. They are not only competent but excellent in character, judicious in all judgments, with
humility, fortitude, sensitivity and integrity.
With this framework, the researcher has reached a firm resolve that only then when a
leader has achieved balance in both competence and character, certainly, fair and just result
will surface. And only when critical thinking is embedded in each component, an encompass-
ing and transcending power will be felt. The leader is enabled and empowered to inspire her/
his followers to perspire.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Sun Tzu in his book The Art of War has aptly illustrated the importance and indispens-
ability of education. He said to win you should know your enemy well. Study the person’s
strengths and weaknesses. Know his/her most vulnerable spot. In short, it is getting all the in-
formation, making an assessment and deciding the best plan of action. Such philosophy is
widely adopted by leaders in running a business and also those who run the affairs of the gov-
ernment. The leaders set the example. Clearly, they are men and women of wisdom whose
character reflects the outstanding qualities of critical thinkers.

People are inherently good and just and can be reoriented back to themselves. Balance
will be regained once connection to critical thinking is secured. Should critical thinkers grow
in number dramatically, the human capital becomes the huge force of a stable society.

Virtuous human capital makes up the entire social capital. They are connected as a
network of reciprocity and trustworthiness. “Educate part of the community and the whole of
it benefits.”

This education and training program, Reach Out To Teach, is an effort to enhance
human resource development (HRD). This study strongly proposes sustainability and
expansion of the program. It recommends the following: pooling and strengthening of
resources (human, material and financial resources); designing a comprehensive training-
workshop; more collaborative efforts with the outside workforce and more linkages with
other organizations and agencies for consultation and support to be able to establish standards
for education and training to enhance HRD.

On its fifth (5th) year of existence, IRC has clearly seen the impact of the Reach Out To
Teach program both inside and outside WUP community. This is her contribution in joining
UNESCO’s effort towards promoting philosophical reflection as the basis for democracy,
human rights and a just society, toward an authentic foundation for peaceful co-existence.

References

14
Balboa, J. & Takenaka, S. (2010) Corruption and development: Revisited. Published in 2010
as Discussion Paper. (http://serp-p.pids.gov.ph/serp-p/details.php?pid=4783)

Blanchard, K. and Hodges, P. Lead like Jesus. Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role
Model of All Time. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Bolman, L., and Deal, T. (1995) Leading with soul: An uncommon journey of the spirit. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Bolman, L., and Deal, T. (1997).  "Making sense of organizations", Reframing organizations:
Artistry, choice and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brockbank A. and McGill, I. (2007) Facilitating reflective learning in higher education.

Philadelphia. Open University Press

Brookfield, S.D. (2005) The power of critical theory: liberating adult learning and
Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Brookefield S. (2006) Developing critical thinkers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gonzales, J. (2009) Culture, corruption, and the prospects for change: A statistical study.
Retrieved from http://www.gsb.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=364&type=2&sec=32&aid=2366
Halpern, D F. 1997 Critical thinking across the curriculum: A brief edition of thought and
knowledge. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Hatcher, D. L., & Spencer, L. A. (2005). Reasoning and writing: From critical thinking to
composition. 3rd. ed. Boston: American Press.

Jonathan, (2009) Seeking balance in an unbalanced world. Retrieved from http://ad-

vancedlifeskills.com/blog/seeking-balance-in-an-unbalanced-world/

Kempston (2001) Values development and learning organizations. Journal of knowledge

management. Brian P. Hall

Klinker, JoAnn. 2006 Critical thinking.  Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Ad-

ministration. Ed. Fenwick English. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: Sage Reference, 2006. p240-
241. 2 vols. 

Lang, R. The role of ngos in the process of empowerment and social transformation of people
with disabilities

Manalo (2008) Building pathways toward peace: A vision of UNESCO in the 21st century.
Paper presented.

McKown, L How to measure balance using the berg balance scale

A Research PaperPresented ToThe Research DepartmentAir Command and Staff College

15
Olaniyan, D. & Okemakinde, T. (2008) Human capital theory: Implications for educational
development. European Journal of Scientific Research Vol. 24. EuroJournals Publishing, Inc.

Richmond, J. (2007) Bringing critical thinking to the education of developing country

professionals. International Education Journal. Shannon Research Press

Scriven, M., & Paul, R. (2004). The Critical thinking community. Retrieved April 17, 2009,
from http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/definingCT.shtml

Duron, R., Limbach B. and Waugh W. (2006) International journal of teaching and learning
in higher education 2006, Volume 17, Number 2, 160-166 http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/
ISSN 1812-9129

Sathia Sai . Retrieved from http://www.sathyasaiehv.org.uk/educare.htm

UNCTAD XII, 2008

The Constitution of the Philippines (1987)

Using Berg Balance Scale Retrieved February 19, 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/
how_5199637_measure-using-berg-balance-scale.html

Spiritual Based Leadership. Retrieved February 19, 2010 from http://www.experiencefesti-

val.com/a/Spiritual_Based_Leadership/id/5611980

Balanced Leadership. Retrieved April 7, 2010 from

http://customwritingservices.org/samples/1.php
Diversity Leadership. Retrieved April 7, 2010 from
http://www.thehrdirector.com/web_features_archive/leadership/Leadership_the_fine_balance
Leadership The Fine Balance. Retrieved April 7, 2010 from
http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/bolman.html#integrate
Reframing Leadership. Retrieved April 7, 2010

16