ABSTRACT
The development of educational systems as regulatory institutions controlling students' educational and professional aspirations needs to be challenged. The attention now should be on institutional approaches focused on laying the foundations of lifelong learning. The conceptual foundation of this new educational setting is the development of critical thinking by both teachers and students as well as the principles and values of democratic citizenship. The practical foundations of critical thinking are the continuous transactions between individuals and their social and cultural contexts resulting in the accumulation of citizenship and social and cultural capital. Such accumulation is needed for the creation of autonomous mentalities of thought and action (Emirbayer & Johnson, 2008).
