The Zimbabwean early childhood development policy (Statutory Instrument, 14 of in 2004) witnessed a massive enrolment increase of learners from disadvantaged communities. The challenge however, is that enrolment of ECD learners has not been matched with teachers capable of developing critical thinking. Children enrolled in ECD settings often struggle to show critical thinking dispositions that are fundamental to pre-academic skills. The study investigated strategies which teachers employ in ECD classes to promote critical thinking skills. Qualitative methodology was employed to investigate strategies ECD teachers employed in everyday lessons to inculcate critical thinking minds in five pre-school centres. Qualitative research methods were employed to gather data from five preschool centres in Masvingo urban- Zimbabwe. Interviews and observations were used to gather data on nurturing critical thinking in ECD settings. The study found that teachers employed cooperative learning; questioning and probing among other strategies to promote critical thinking. However, in the majority of cases, teachers lacked the skills fundamental to develop critical thinking, and many resorted to the lecture method, which has not been empirically proved not to be suitable for the ECD age group, especially when the idea is to develop the learners that can think independently and reasonably. The major challenge observed in the majority of schools was the inflexibility of timetables in preschool centres as part of the barriers hindering development of critical thinking. Under such a condition, nurturance of critical thinking in young learners was in small dose and unsystematic. The study recommends that, school heads should design school policies that enforce teachers teach to employ methods that develop critical thinking dispositions. The study further recommends ECD classes to have time-tables that are flexible to provide opportunities for interaction and open-ended questions that nurture critical thinking. As part of their curriculum; teachers� colleges and universities should make critical thinking part of their broader teacher education curriculum.

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