Paper Title
Improvement of Critical Thinking Ability: Islamic Perceptions of the Elementary Schools Pre service Teacher Education Programs

Abstract
This study aims to examine how male Islamic teacher candidates perceive the elementary schools’ preservice teacher education programs in terms of the improvement of the ability of critical thinking. By using the mixed-method research approaches, findings indicate the improvement of critical thinking is not one of the teacher education programs priorities. So, this study underscores that there is an urgent need for incorporating critical thinking in teacher education programs in order to increase the quality of the outcomes of the Saudi educational system. Inclusion of critical thinking skills in higher education is still limited due to the societal pressures against the concept of critical thinking. It has not been considered a priority of the Saudi educational colleges or universities, or even the school districts. Keywords - Critical Thinking Ability, Islamic Teacher’s Perceptions.