TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A CASE STUDY OF ROALD DAHL’S MATILDA
TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING THROUGH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A CASE STUDY OF ROALD DAHL’S MATILDA

Summary/Abstract: In this paper we try to examine the pedagogical potential of Roald Dahl’s Matilda as a literary resource for fostering critical thinking skills in primary and lower secondary education. Through a qualitative case-study approach, the analysis explores how narrative elements such as character development, moral conflict, and the representation of intellectual agency create opportunities for learners to engage in reflective reasoning and evaluative judgment. The study highlights how Matilda’s interactions with authority, her pursuit of knowledge, and her strategic problem solving can be integrated into instructional practices that encourage questioning, inference making, and evidence-based argumentation. By situating the text within contemporary educational frameworks on critical literacy and cognitive development, the article demonstrates that children’s literature serves as an effective medium for cultivating analytical competencies and promoting learner autonomy in classroom contexts.

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