Thoma, George A. (1993) "The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics".
Journal of Economic Education Spring:128-136.
William Perry (1970). The nine developmental positions identified by Perry (1970, pp. 9-10) are
shown below. They were devised through close observation, intensive interviews, and
measurement of Harvard undergraduates (82 men and 2 women) as they proceeded through
college in the 1950s and 1960s. Perry was specifically interested in how college students think
and in the impact of education on intellectual and ethical development.
Position 1: The student sees the world in polar terms of we-right-good vs. other-wrong-bad.
Right Answers for everything exist in the Absolute, known to Authority, whose role is to
mediate (teach) them. Knowledge and goodness are perceived as quantitative accretions of
discrete rightnesses to be collected by hard work and obedience (paradigm: a spelling test).
Position 2: The student perceives diversity of opinion, and uncertainty, and accounts for them as
unwarranted confusion in poorly qualified Authorities or as mere exercises set by Authority "so
we can learn to find The Answer for ourselves."
Position 3: The student accepts diversity and uncertainty as legitimate but still temporary in areas
where Authority "hasn't found The Answer yet." He supposes Authority grades him in these
areas on "good expression" but remains puzzled as to standards.
Position 4: (a) The student perceives legitimate uncertainty (and therefore diversity of opinion)
to be extensive and raises it to the status of an unstructured epistemological realm of its own, in
which "anyone has a right to his opinion," a realm which he sets over against Authority's realm,
where right-wrong still prevails; or (b) the student discovers qualitative contextual relativistic
reasoning as a special case of "what They want" within Authority's realm.
Position 5: The student perceives all knowledge and values (including Authority's) as contextual
and relativistic and subordinates dualistic right-wrong functions to the status of a special case, in
context.
Top
Position 6: The student apprehends the necessity of orienting himself in a relativistic world
through some form of personal Commitment (as distinct from unquestioned or unconsidered
commitment to simple belief in certainty).
Position 7: The student makes an initial Commitment in some area.
Position 8: The student experiences the implications of Commitment and explores the subjective
and stylistic issues of responsibility.
Position 9: The student experiences the affirmation of identity among multiple responsibilities
and realizes Commitment as an ongoing, unfolding activity through which he expresses his life
style.
Perry's model moves from perceiving the world in absolutist terms (positions 1,2,3) to making
more room for diversity and recognizing the problematic nature of life (positions 4,5,6,) to
finding one's own place through personal commitment in a relativistic world (positions 7,8,9). In
brief, development moves through sequences - from simplicity to complexity and from
differentiation to integration. In Perry's scheme, the immature person perceives the world in
either-or, good-bad, permitted-not permitted terms. A child or an immature adult looks to an
outside authority - parent or teacher- for the "right" answer. Gradually, he begins to discover that
authorities disagree and that the values of fellow students differ from his own. In an effort to
resolve the differences between equally credible people, he adopts the "everyone has a right to
his own opinion" stance or the "I'll do what they want even thought I don't see why" attitude. The
individual attaining more advanced levels of development begins to see that he must find
integrity for himself in a relativistic world, identifying the things that are important and central to
his sense of self.
In his research, Perry found that most Harvard freshmen enter college at stages 3, 4 and 5 and
graduate in positions 6,7, and 8. Position 9 was rarely observed in college students, but I would
expect it to be more common among adult learners, especially those engaged in substantial
intellectual work. Indeed, as research extends to the adult years, I would expect revision and
extension of Perry's top three or four positions.
It is, of course, possible that the highest positions of intellectual development reported by Perry
for Harvard undergraduates would also be the highest positions among adults, but that seems
unlikely. As we saw in the early pages of this chapter, IQ was once thought to parallel physical
growth, rising to a maximum when physical maturity is attained, declining as old age is
approached. Further investigation of intellectual performance on intelligence tests revealed not
so much different amounts of intelligence between youth and old age as different patterns, as
represented in the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Similarly, I would expect new
patterns and new developmental positions to appear among adults doing extensive intellectual
work. The promise of further study of developmental theories of intellectual growth lies in their
potential to illuminate the range and sequence of patterns of human learning. If we know where
an adult stands in intellectual development, we are in a better position to help him or her advance
to the next stage.
From: Cross, Kathryn Patricia
Adults as Learners.
The Perry Model of Intellectual and Ethical Development
Stages of Cognitive Development

Students generally
believe knowledge is
certain and unambiguous:
black/white, right/wrong

Questions have
immutable, objective
answers

Students generally
believe authorities
possess valuable wisdom
that contains eternal
truths
#2: Multiplicity

Students come to believe
that where uncertainty
exists, knowledge and
truth are essentially
subjective and personal
#3: ContextualRelativism

Students come to believe
that even where
uncertainty exists, people
must make choices about
premises, frameworks,
hypotheses, and theories
to apply; policy
conclusions are not selfevident
#4: ContextAppropriate
Decisions

Students may come to
acknowledge that choices
require analysis and
values. Knowledge,
theories, and methods are
imperfect and uncertain,
thus personal choices
require acknowledging
personal responsibility
#1: Dualistic
Thinking
Transitions in Cognitive
Development

Certainty yields to
uncertainty and ambiguity
Students come to recognize that
mere opinion is insufficient because
specific critieria help evaluate the
usefulness and validity of knowledge
claims:
• methodology • empirical evidence
• explanatory power • predictive
power
• logical consistency
• positive vs. normative conclusions

Students may come to
recognize that even in a
world of uncertainty, they
must make choices
(whether about ideas,
hypotheses, theories, or
policies). These choices
require methods of critical
thinking.
that follows from
personal values.
Source: model modifications by Nelson (1989), with additional comments by Thoma (1993)
Definition
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a total approach to education. As defined by Dr. Howard
Barrows and Ann Kelson of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, PBL is both a
curriculum and a process. The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems
that demand from the learner acquisition of critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency,
self-directed learning strategies, and team participation skills. The process replicates the
commonly used systemic approach to resolving problems or meeting challenges that are
encountered in life and career.
Role Changes
In problem-based learning, the traditional teacher and student roles change. The students assume
increasing responsibility for their learning, giving them more motivation and more feelings of
accomplishment, setting the pattern for them to become successful life-long learners. The faculty
in turn become resources, tutors, and evaluators, guiding the students in their problem solving
efforts.
History
Problem-based learning began at McMaster University Medical School over 25 years ago. It has
since been implemented in various undergraduate and graduate programs around the world.
Additionally, elementary and secondary schools have adopted PBL. The PBL approach is now
being used in a few community colleges as well.
Results
Students involved in problem-based learning acquire knowledge and become proficient in
problem solving, self-directed learning, and team participation. Studies show that PBL prepares
students as well as traditional methods. PBL students do as well as their counterparts from
traditional classrooms on national exams, but are in fact better practitioners of their professions.