Critical Thinking Dispositions
Working with students and educators to develop a new scale..
Posted September 11, 2020
Critical thinking (CT) skills and dispositions are increasingly valued in modern society, largely because these skills and dispositions support reasoning and problem-solving in real-world settings (Butler et al., 2012; Halpern, 2013). Historically, CT skills including analysis, evaluation and inference have been extensively researched, and there are a number of instruments available to measure these skills. However, CT dispositions have been somewhat neglected by researchers. Indeed, it’s not easy to find reliable and valid scales to measure CT dispositions.
In broad terms, CT dispositions refer to an inclination, tendency or willingness to perform specific thinking skills. Currently, the only measures of CT dispositions available are the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI; Facione & Facione, 1992) and the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS; Sosu, 2013). The authors of the CCTDI generated a set of items that were assumed to measure seven CT dispositions: Inquisitiveness, Maturity, Self-Confidence , Open-Mindedness, Truth-Seeking, Analyticity, and Systematicity. However, researchers have questioned the reliability and validity of the scale (Walsh, Seldomridge & Badros, 2007). The CCTDI is also a proprietary scale, and in addition to having to pay to use the scale, researchers are not provided with a scoring key indicating which items pertain to which factors.
This is deeply unfortunate, not only for researchers seeking transparency but also for educators who have limited or no funds to support intervention and evaluation work in the classroom. Responding to analytical problems associated with the use of CCTDI, Sosu (2013) developed the Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale (CTDS). This is a two-factor, 11-item instrument, measuring two core CT dispositions: critical openness and reflective scepticism. Initial evaluations suggest the scale has good internal consistency and convergent validity.
The limited availability of reliable and valid CT disposition measures is problematic. Notably, CT is an important outcome of education , with many universities now providing instructional CT courses, which have the potential to support the development of CT skills and CT dispositions. Having access to reliable and valid measures of CT dispositions is vital as it allows for the evaluation of curricula and can be used to inform the iterative design of CT training programmes.
Therefore, we recently set out to develop and evaluate a new measure of CT dispositions . Importantly, the Student-Educator Negotiated CT Dispositions Scale (SENCTDS) is grounded in intensive collective intelligence deliberations involving students and educators, who worked together to develop a consensus-based model of CT dispositions (Dwyer et al., 2016). We also followed the principles of scale design advocated by DeVellis (2012) – we generated CT disposition scale items derived from our collective intelligence work, made modifications to scale items based on expert feedback, performed both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to identify scale factors, and evaluated the validity of the scale. Part of the validity evaluation involved the analysis of predictive relationships between SENCTDS factors and paranormal and conspiracy beliefs, which were hypothesised based on previous research to be negatively related to CT dispositions. So what did we find?
First, collective intelligence work revealed 13 CT dispositions that students and educators considered important. The 13 CT dispositions are listed and defined below.
An inclination to reflect on one’s behaviour, attitudes, opinions, and motivations; distinguishing what is known and what is unknown, recognising limited knowledge or uncertainty; approaching decision-making with an awareness that some problems are ill-structured, some situations permit more than one plausible conclusion or solution, and good judgment is based on analysis and evaluation, and depends on feasibility, standards, contexts, and available evidence.
Open-Mindedness
An inclination to be cognitively flexible and avoid rigidity in thinking; to tolerate divergent or conflicting views and consider all viewpoints; to detach from one’s own beliefs and consider points of view other to one’s own without bias or self-interest; to be open to feedback by accepting positive feedback and not rejecting criticism or constructive feedback without thoughtful consideration; to amend existing knowledge in light of new ideas and experiences.
Self-Efficacy
The tendency to be confident and trust in one’s own reasoned judgments; to acknowledging one’s sense of self while considering problems and arguments (i.e. life experiences, knowledge, biases, culture, and environment); to be confident and believe in one’s ability to assimilate feedback positively and constructively; to be self-efficacious in leading others in the rational resolution of problems; and to recognise that good reasoning is the key to living a rational life and to creating a more just world.
Truth-Seeking
To have a desire for knowledge; to seek and offer both reasons and objections in an effort to inform and be well-informed; a willingness to challenge popular beliefs and social norms by asking questions (of oneself and others); to be honest and objective about pursuing the truth even if findings do not support one’s self-interest or pre-conceived beliefs; and to change one’s mind about an idea as a result of the desire for truth.
Organisation
An inclination to be orderly, systematic and diligent with information, resources, and time when working on a task or addressing a problem, with awareness of the broader context supporting the maintenance of organised activity.
Resourcefulness
The willingness to utilise existing internal resources to resolve problems; search for additional external resources in order to resolve problems; to switch between solution processes and/or knowledge to seek new ways/information to solve a problem; to make the best of the resources available; to adapt and/or improve if something goes wrong; and to think about how and why it went wrong.
Inclination to challenge ideas; to withhold judgment in advance of engaging all the evidence or when the evidence and reasons are insufficient; to take a position and be able to change position when the evidence and reasons are sufficient; and to look at findings from various perspectives.
Perseverance
To be resilient and motivated to persist at working through complex tasks and the associated frustration and difficulty inherent in such tasks, without giving up; motivation to get the job done correctly; a desire to progress.
Inquisitiveness
An inclination to be curious; desire to fully understand something, discover the answer to a problem, and accept that an answer may not yet be known; a sustained curiosity to understand a task and its associated requirements.
Intrinsic Goal Orientation
Inclined to be positive and enthusiastic towards a task or topic and the process of learning new things; to search for answers as a result of internal motivation, rather than as a result of external, extrinsic rewards.
Attentiveness
Willingness to focus and concentrate; to be aware of surroundings, context, consequences and potential obstacles.
A tendency to visualise, simulate and generate novel ideas; to "think outside the box" (i.e. thinking from different perspectives, with non-normative solutions and novel syntheses).
To seek intelligibility, transparency, lucidity and precision from others and to be clear with respect to the intended meaning of any communication.
Next, a total of 167 scale items designed to tap into these 13 dispositions were generated and were sent to independent experts for review, specifically, to evaluate both the relevance and clarity of statements as indicators of specific CT dispositions. Based on expert feedback, 101 items measuring the 13 CT dispositions were retained for factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis first revealed an eight-factor CT disposition structure, and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis indicated a six-factor structure. As such, although we started with 13 CT dispositions derived from collective intelligence work, statistical analyses converged on a six-factor, 21-item SENCTDS measure with good reliability for the total scale (α=.773) and sub-scales (α=.594 - .823). The scale items and associated factors are presented below.
- When a theory, interpretation or conclusion is presented to me, I try to decide if there is good supporting evidence.
- When faced with a decision, I seek as much information as possible.
- I try to gather as much information about a topic before I draw a conclusion about it.
- I find that I'm easily distracted when thinking about a task.
- I find it hard to concentrate when thinking about problems.
- I often miss out on important information because I'm thinking of other things.
- I often daydream when learning a new topic.
Open-mindedness
- Thinking is not about "being flexible," it’s about "being right."
- Being open-minded about different worldviews is less important than people think.
- When attempting to solve complex problems, it’s better to give up fast if you cannot reach a solution.
- I know what I think and believe so it’s not important to dwell on it any further.
- I like to make lists of things I need to do and thoughts I may have.
- I take notes so I can organize my thoughts.
- I make simple charts, diagrams or tables to help me organize large amounts of information.
- I persevere with a task even when it is very difficult.
- Frustration does not stop me from finishing what needs to be done.
- I find it desirable to keep going even if it is sometimes hard.
Intrinsic goal motivation
- I enjoy information that challenges me to think.
- I look forward to learning challenging things.
- Completing difficult tasks is fun for me.
- Even if material is difficult to comprehend, I enjoy dealing with information that arouses my curiosity.
Although more work is needed to further evaluate the factor structure and scale reliability and validity of the SENCTDS, a range of convergent and predictive validity analyses are reported in the published paper.
For example, we used the Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale (Tobacyk, 2004), and the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs questionnaire (GCB; Brotherton, French & Pickering, 2013) as part of predictive validity testing. Notably, higher scores on the SENCTDS factor perseverance were associated with lower paranormal belief scores. It is increasingly understood that judgments and decisions can be driven by biases and heuristics , which may increase vulnerability to superstitious and paranormal beliefs (Willard & Norenzayan, 2013). However, if one perseveres and works through challenging issues and problems, one may be less susceptible to accepting paranormal beliefs.
Consistent with the idea that persevering with challenging tasks entails a motivation to engage with knowledge, a negative relationship was also found between intrinsic goal motivation and paranormal belief scores. SENCTDS also predicted a number of GCB subscale scores. For example, higher levels of open-mindedness were associated with lower levels of endorsement for conspiracy-related control of information (CI) beliefs, a finding consistent with previous research (Swami, Voracek, Stieger, Tran, & Furnham, 2014).
Perseverance was also found to negatively predict government malfeasance (GM) and malevolent global (MG) conspiracy beliefs. Furthermore, attentiveness was found to negatively predict extra-terrestrial cover-up (ET) beliefs. Attentiveness has previously been linked with deep learning (Lau, Liem & Nie, 2009) and insight problem-solving (Byrne & Murray, 2005), and the findings from our study suggest that dispositional attentiveness to information and arguments may also influence personal beliefs.
In summary, our study provides researchers and educators with a unique conceptualisation of CT dispositions and a new scale that can be used to measure six dispositions. While research has highlighted the importance of thinking dispositions, limited work has focused on CT disposition scale development. The current research points to the SENCTDS as a reliable and valid measure of CT dispositions, which may prove useful in advancing basic and applied research in the area.
Brotherton, R., French, C. C., & Pickering, A. D. (2013). Measuring belief in conspiracy theories: The generic conspiracist beliefs scale. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 279. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00279
Butler, H. A., Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., Franco, A., Rivas, S. F., Saiz, C., & Almeida, L. F. (2012). Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment and real-world outcomes: Cross-national application. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7(2), 112-121.
Byrne, R. M., & Murray, M. A. (2005, January). Attention and working memory in insight problem-solving. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 27, No. 27).
DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development: Theory and applications (Vol. 26). Thousand Oaks: Sage publications.
Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., Harney, O. M., & Kavanagh, C. (2016). Facilitating a student-educator conceptual model of dispositions towards critical thinking through interactive management. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-27.
Facione, P. A., & Facione, N. C. (1992). California critical thinking disposition inventory. Millbrae: California Academic Press
Halpern, D. F. (2013). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking. New York: Psychology Press.
Lau, S., Liem, A. D., & Nie, Y. (2008). Task‐and self‐related pathways to deep learning: The mediating role of achievement goals, classroom attentiveness, and group participation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(4), 639-662. doi: https://doi.org/10.1348/000709907X270261
Sosu, E. M. (2013). The development and psychometric validation of a Critical Thinking Disposition Scale. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 9, 107-119. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2012.09.002
Swami, V., Voracek, M., Stieger, S., Tran, U. S., & Furnham, A. (2014). Analytic thinking reduces belief in conspiracy theories. Cognition, 133(3), 572-585. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2014.08.006.
Tobacyk, J. J. (2004). A revised paranormal belief scale. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 23(23), 94-98. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.94
Michael Hogan, Ph.D. , is a lecturer in psychology at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
- Find a Therapist
- Find a Treatment Center
- Find a Psychiatrist
- Find a Support Group
- Find Teletherapy
- United States
- Brooklyn, NY
- Chicago, IL
- Houston, TX
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
- Portland, OR
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, DC
- Asperger's
- Bipolar Disorder
- Chronic Pain
- Eating Disorders
- Passive Aggression
- Personality
- Goal Setting
- Positive Psychology
- Stopping Smoking
- Low Sexual Desire
- Relationships
- Child Development
- Therapy Center NEW
- Diagnosis Dictionary
- Types of Therapy
Understanding what emotional intelligence looks like and the steps needed to improve it could light a path to a more emotionally adept world.
- Coronavirus Disease 2019
- Affective Forecasting
- Neuroscience
Advertisement
Disposition Towards Critical Thinking and Student Engagement in Higher Education
- Published: 10 June 2022
- Volume 48 , pages 239–256, ( 2023 )
Cite this article
- Paula Álvarez-Huerta 1 ,
- Alexander Muela 2 &
- Inaki Larrea 1
1210 Accesses
5 Citations
3 Altmetric
Explore all metrics
Developing student critical thinking skills is a core purpose of higher education, and requires the cognitive and disposition components of critical thinking to be fostered. The present study aims to examine the relationship between disposition towards critical thinking and engagement in higher education students. Participants were 836 students from two universities in Spain. Results showed a direct and positive relationship between student critical thinking disposition and several aspects of student engagement, such as reflective learning and participation in high-impact practices. These results could inform general pedagogical practices within the higher education curriculum so as to foster critical thinking disposition among future graduates.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this article
Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Rent this article via DeepDyve
Institutional subscriptions
Similar content being viewed by others
Applying Cognitive Science to Critical Thinking among Higher Education Students
Medical students’ reflective capacity and its role in their critical thinking disposition
Facilitating a student-educator conceptual model of dispositions towards critical thinking through interactive management, data availability.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.
Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Waddington, D. I., Wade, C. A., & Persson, T. (2015). Strategies for teaching students to think critically: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 85 (2), 275–314. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314551063
Article Google Scholar
Agudo Saiz, D., Salcines Talledo, I., & González Fernández, N. (2020). Pensamiento crítico en ESO y Bachillerato: perspectiva de docentes y estudiantes de un IES en una provincia del norte de España. Tendencias Pedagógicas, 37, 121–133. https://doi.org/10.15366/tp2021.37.010 .
Akpur, U. (2020). Critical, reflective, creative thinking and their reflections on academic achievement. Thinking Skills and Creativity , 37 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100683
Alsina, Á., Ayllón, S., Colomer, J., Fernández-Peña, R., Fullana, J., Pallisera, M., Pérez-Burriel, M., & Serra, L. (2017). Improving and evaluating reflective narratives: A rubric for higher education students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63 , 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.015
Alvarez-Huerta, P., Muela, A., & Larrea, I. (2021). Student engagement and creative confidence beliefs in higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100821
Álvarez-Huerta, P., Muela, A., & Larrea, I. (2022). Disposition toward critical thinking andcreative confidence beliefs in higher education students: The mediating role of openness to diversity and challenge. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 101003 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2022.101003
Anaya, G. (1999). College impact on student learning: Comparing the use of self-reported gains, standardized test scores, and college grades. Research in Higher Education, 40 (5), 499–526. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018744326915
Arend, B. (2009). Encouraging critical thinking in online threaded discussions. The Journal of Educators Online. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ904064.pdf
Arslan, R., Gulveren, H., & Aydin, E. (2014). A research on critical thinking tendencies and factors that affect critical thinking of higher education students. International Journal of Business and Management , 9 (5). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v9n5p43
Bakadorova, O., Lazarides, R., & Raufelder, D. (2020). Effects of social and individual school self-concepts on school engagement during adolescence. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 35 (1), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-019-00423-x
Bezanilla-Albisua, M. J., Poblete-Ruiz, M., Fernández-Nogueira, D., Arranz-Turnes, S., & Campo-Carrasco, L. (2018). El Pensamiento Crítico desde la Perspectiva de los Docentes Universitarios. Estudios Pedagógicos, 44 (1), 89–113. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-07052018000100089
Bezanilla, M. J., Fernández-Nogueira, D., Poblete, M., & Galindo-Domínguez, H. (2019). Methodologies for teaching-learning critical thinking in higher education: The teacher’s view. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 33 , 100584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2019.100584
Bezanilla, M. J., Galindo-Domínguez, H., & Poblete, M. (2021). Importance of teaching critical thinking in higher education and existing difficulties according to Teacher’s views. Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research, 11 (1), 20–48. https://doi.org/10.4471/remie.2021.6159
Bourner, T. (2003). Assessing reflective learning. Education + Training, 45 (5), 267–272. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910310484321
Bravo, M. J., Galiana, L., Rodrigo, M. F., Navarro-Perez, J. J., & Oliver, A. (2020). An adaptation of the critical thinking disposition scale in Spanish youth. Thinking Skills and Creativity , 38 , 100748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100748
Burbach, M. E., & MatkinFritz, G. S. (2004). Teaching critical thinking in an introductory leadership course utilizing active learning strategies: A confirmatory study. College Student Journal, 38 , 482–494.
Google Scholar
Campbell, C. M., & Cabrera, A. F. (2014). Are grades and deep learning related? Research in Higher Education, 55 (5), 494–507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9323-6
Carini, R. M., Kuh, G. D., & Kleint, S. P. (2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the Linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47 (1), 1–32.
Chan, C. (2019). Using digital storytelling to facilitate critical thinking disposition in youth civic engagement: A randomized control trial. Children and Youth Services Review , 107 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104522
Chan, N. M., Ho, I. T., & Ku, K. Y. L. (2011). Epistemic beliefs and critical thinking of Chinese students. Learning and Individual Differences, 21 (1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.11.001
Chen, Q., Liu, D., Zhou, C., & Tang, S. (2020). Relationship between critical thinking disposition and research competence among clinical nurses: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29 (7–8), 1332–1340. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15201
Cheng, M. H. M., & Wan, Z. H. (2017). Exploring the effects of classroom learning environment on critical thinking skills and disposition: A study of Hong Kong 12th graders in Liberal Studies. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 24 , 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TSC.2017.03.001
Comer, R. D., Schweiger, T. A., & Shelton, P. (2019). Impact of students’ strengths, critical thinking skills and disposition on academic success in the first year of a PharmD program. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 83 (1), 93–99. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe6499
Daradoumis, T., & Arguedas, M. (2020). Cultivating students’ reflective learning in metacognitive activities through an affective pedagogical agent. Educational Technology & Society , 23(2), 19–31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26921131
Darby, N. M., & Rashid, A. M. (2017). Critical thinking disposition: The effects of infusion approach in engineering drawing. Journal of Education and Learning, 6 (3), 305. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n3p305
Dumitru, D., Bigu, D., Elen, J., Ahern, A., Mcnally, C., & O’sullivan, J. J. (2018). A European review on critical thinking educational practices in higher education institutions . http://crithinkedu.utad.pt/en/crithinkedu/Itemrecord/moreinformation http://hdl.handle.net/10197/9865
Dunning, D., Heath, C., & Suls, J. M. (2016). Flawed self-assessment implications for health, education, and the workplace. Psychological Science in the Public Interest , 5 (3), 69. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1022.3431&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Facione, P. A., Carol, A. S., Facione, N. C., & Gainen, J. (1995). The disposition towards critical thinking. Journal of General Education, 44 (1), 1–25.
Facione, P., Facione, N. C., & Giancarlo, C. A. (2000). The disposition towards critical thinking: Its character, measurement, and relationship to critical thinking skills. Informal Logic, 20 (1), 61–84. https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v20i1.2254
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G * Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39 (2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146
Fullana, J., Pallisera, M., Colomer, J., Fernández-Peña, R., & Pérez-Burriel, M. (2016). Reflective learning in higher education. A qualitative study on students’ perceptions reflective learning in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41 (6), 1008–1022. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.950563
Gallego-Noche, B., Goenechea, C., Antolínez-Domínguez, I., & Valero-Franco, C. (2021). Towards inclusion in Spanish higher education: Understanding the relationship between identification and discrimination. Social Inclusion, 9 (3), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i3.4065
Garvey, J. C., Brckalorenz, A., Latopolski, K., & Hurtado, S. S. (2018). High-impact practices and student–faculty interactions for students across sexual orientations. Journal of College Student Development, 59 (2), 210–226. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0018
Giancarlo, C. A., & Facione, P. A. (2001). A look across four years at the disposition towards critical thinking among undergraduate students. The Journal of General Education, 50 (1), 29–55. https://doi.org/10.1353/jge.2001.0004
Halpern, D. F. (2003). Thinking critically about creative thinking. In M. A. Runco (Ed.), Critical creative processes (pp. 189–207). Hampton Press.
Hayek, J. C., Carini, R. M., O’Day, P. T., & Kuh, G. D. (2002). Triumph or tragedy: Comparing student engagement levels of members of Greek-letter organizations and other students. Journal of College Student Development, 43 (5), 643–663.
Huber, C. R., & Kuncel, N. R. (2016). Does college teach critical thinking? A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86 (2), 431–468. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315605917
Hyytinen, H., Toom, A., & Postareff, L. (2018). Unraveling the complex relationship in critical thinking, approaches to learning and self-efficacy beliefs among first-year educational science students. Learning and Individual Differences, 67 , 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.08.004
Indrašienė, V., Jegelevičienė, V., Merfeldaitė, O., Penkauskienė, D., Pivorienė, J., Railienė, A., Sadauskas, J., & Valavičienė, N. (2021). Linking critical thinking and knowledge management: A conceptual analysis. Sustainability, 13 (3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031476
Janssen, E. M., Mainhard, T., Buisman, R. S. M., Verkoeijen, P. P. J. L., Heijltjes, A. E. G., van Peppen, L. M., & van Gog, T. (2019). Training higher education teachers’ critical thinking and attitudes towardss teaching it. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58 , 310–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.03.007
Jayadeva, S., Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Abrahams, J., Lažetič, P., & Lainio, A. (2020). Are Spanish students customers? Paradoxical perceptions of the impact of marketisation on higher education in Spain. Sociological Research Online, 26 (1), 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780420968577
Kahu, E. R. (2013). Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38 (5), 758–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.598505
Kang, F. (2015). Contribution of emotional intelligence towardss graduate students’ critical thinking disposition. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 3 (4), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.3n.4p.6
Ketonen, E. E., Malmberg, L. E., Salmela-Aro, K., Muukkonen, H., Tuominen, H., & Lonka, K. (2019). The role of study engagement in university students’ daily experiences: A multilevel test of moderation. Learning and Individual Differences, 69 , 196–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.11.001
Kilgo, C. A., Ezell Sheets, J. K., & Pascarella, E. T. (2015). The link between high-impact practices and student learning: Some longitudinal evidence. Higher Education, 69 , 509–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9788-z
Kim, Y. K., & Sax, L. J. (2009). Student-faculty interaction in research universities: Differences by student gender, race, social class, and first-generation status. Research in Higher Education, 50 (5), 437–459. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-009-9127-x
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter . Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Kuh, G. D. (2010). Assessing what really matters to student learning inside the national survey of student engagement. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 33 (3), 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380109601795
Liyanage, I., Walker, T., & Shokouhi, H. (2021). Are we thinking critically about critical thinking? Uncovering uncertainties in internationalised higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity , 39 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100762
Loes, C. N., & Pascarella, E. T. (2017). Collaborative learning and critical thinking: Testing the link. Journal of Higher Education, 88 (5), 726–753. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2017.1291257
Loes, C., Pascarella, E. T., & Umbach, P. D. (2012). Effects of diversity experiences on critical thinking skills: Who benefits? The Journal of Higher Education, 83 (1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2012.0001
Lun, V. M. C., Fischer, R., & Ward, C. (2010). Exploring cultural differences in critical thinking: Is it about my thinking style or the language I speak? Learning and Individual Differences, 20 (6), 604–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.07.001
Magno, C. (2010). The role of metacognitive skills in developing critical thinking. Metacognition and Learning, 5 (2), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-010-9054-4
Mayhew, M. J., Rockenbach, A. N., Bowman, N. A., Seifert, T. A., Wolniak, G. C., Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2016). How college affects students, Volume 3, 21st century evidence that higher education works . Jossey-Bass.
McCormick, A. C., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2013). Student engagement: Bridging research and practice to improve the quality of undergraduate education. In M. Paulsen (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research: Vol. XXVIII . Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2456-8
Miller, A. L., & Dumford, A. D. (2016). Creative cognitive processes in higher education. Journal of Creative Behavior, 50 (4), 282–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.77
Morris, P. D., & Clark, L. M. (2018). Using NSSE data to analyze levels of engagement of distance learners. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 19 (2), 1–53.
Myers, B. E., & Dyer, J. E. (2006). The influence of student learning style on critical thinking skill. Journal of Agricultural Education, 47 (1), 43–54.
Noohi, E., Karimi-Noghondar, M., & Haghdoost, A. (2012). Survey of critical thinking and clinical decision making in nursing student of Kerman University. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 17 (6), 440–444.
Pascarella, E. T., Palmer, B., Moye, M., & Pierson, C. T. (2001). Do diversity experiences influence the development of critical thinking? Journal of College Student Development, 42 (3), 257–271.
Qiang, R., Han, Q., Guo, Y., Bai, J., & Karwowski, M. (2020). Critical thinking disposition and scientific creativity: The mediating role of creative self-efficacy. Journal of Creative Behavior, 54 (1), 90–99. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.347
R Core Team (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.R-project.org/
Rodzalan, S. A., & Saat, M. M. (2015). The perception of critical thinking and problem solving skill among Malaysian undergraduate students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172 , 725–732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.425
Rosseel, Y. (2012). Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling and more. Version 0.5–12 (BETA). Journal of Statistical Software, 48 (2), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v048.i02
Sahanowas, S., & Santoshi, H. (2020). Critical thinking disposition of undergraduate students in relation to emotional intelligence: Gender as a moderator. Heliyon , 6 (11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05477
Shirazi, F., & Heidari, S. (2019). The relationship between critical thinking skills and learning styles and academic achievement of nursing students. The Journal of Nursing Research, 27 (4), e38. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000307
Snyder, L. G., & Snyder, M. J. (2008). Teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills. The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal , 50 , 90–99. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9d73/986223dbfd7c799516bc0cc8f48e1869fbc5.pdf
Sosu, E. M. (2013). The development and psychometric validation of a critical thinking disposition scale. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 9 , 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2012.09.002
Turan, M. B., & Koç, K. (2018). The impact of self-directed learning readiness on critical thinking and self-efficacy among the students of the school of physical education and sports. International Journal of Higher Education, 7 (6), 98–105. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p98
Vieira, M. J., Vidal, J., & Barrio, S. (2007). Una herramienta de evaluación para comparar la experiencia académica de los estudiantes universitarios. Revista De Investigación Educativa, 25 (2), 327–350.
Yuan, R., Yang, M., & Stapleton, P. (2020). Enhancing undergraduates’ critical thinking through research engagement: A practitioner research approach. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 38 , 100737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100737
Zilvinskis, J., Masseria, A. A., & Pike, G. R. (2017). Student engagement and student learning : Examining the convergent and discriminant validity of the revised national survey of student engagement. Research in Higher Education, 58 , 880–903. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-017-9450-6
Download references
This research was supported by a grant from Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia to the Faculty of Humanities and Education Sciences of Mondragon Unibertsitatea.
Author information
Authors and affiliations.
Innovation and Intervention in Inclusive Education, HUHEZI, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Dorleta, 20540, Eskoriatza, Spain
Paula Álvarez-Huerta & Inaki Larrea
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology and Research Methodology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Tolosa Hiribidea, 70, 20018, Donostia, Spain
Alexander Muela
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Contributions
PAH conceived the research; AM analyzed the data; IL contributed to the interpretation of the results. PAH, AM and IL wrote the manuscript. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript.
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Paula Álvarez-Huerta .
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval.
The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Mondragon University (Mondragon Unibertsitatea).
Consent for Publication
All authors agree with the content, and all gave explicit consent to submit this article for publication with this journal.
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's note.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Álvarez-Huerta, P., Muela, A. & Larrea, I. Disposition Towards Critical Thinking and Student Engagement in Higher Education. Innov High Educ 48 , 239–256 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-022-09614-9
Download citation
Accepted : 10 May 2022
Published : 10 June 2022
Issue Date : April 2023
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-022-09614-9
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
- Critical thinking disposition
- Student engagement
- Reflective learning
- High-impact practices
- Find a journal
- Publish with us
- Track your research
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Theorists have hypothesized that skill in critical thinking is positively correlated with the consistent internal motivation to think and that specific critical thinking skills are matched with specific critical thinking dispositions. If true, these assumptions suggest that a skill-focused curriculum would lead persons to be both willing and able to think. This essay presents a researchbased ...
It encompasses two parts: critical thinking disposition and critical thinking skills (Facione, 2000). Critical thinking skills encompass six core cognitive abilities: interpretation, analysis ...
Facilitating a Student-Educator Conceptual Model of Dispositions towards Critical Thinking through Interactive Management. Educational Technology & Research, doi: 10.1007/s11423-016-9460-7.
disposition toward CT. The California Critical Thinking Disposi. tion Inventory (CCTDI) (Facione and Facione 1992), which. derives its conceptualization of the disposition toward CT from. the APA Delphi Report, is the first such instrument. Building on. the power of a relatively rare occurrence in research, a cross.
Critical thinking (CT) is commonly defined as a metacognitive process, consisting of a number of cognitive skills (e.g. analysis, evaluation and inference) and a variety of personal dispositions ...
Facilitating a student-educator conceptual model of dispositions towards critical thinking through interactive management. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-27. Facione, P. A ...
The dimensions of critical thinking dispositions explained by various researchers (Ennis, 1996; Facione et al., 1995; Halpern, 1998;Perkins et al., 1993) indicate that inquisitiveness is an ...
The disposition toward critical thinking, as a di mension of personality, refers to the likelihood that one will approach problem framing or problem solving by using reason. Undergraduate CT Dispositions 31 ing. Thus, the disposition toward critical thinking is the consis
Theorists have hypothesized that skill in critical thinking is positively correlated with the consistent internal motivation to think and that specific critical thinking skills are matched with specific critical thinking dispositions. If true, these assumptions suggest that a skill-focused curriculum would lead persons to be both willing and able to think. This essay presents a researchbased ...
Strategies for fostering critical thinking dispositions in… 2155 1 3 CT dispositions are understood by Ennis (1996, pp. 170-171) in terms of three basic ... for describing a person's disposition towards CT is valuable in the sense that it is easy to understand because it is expressed in terms of actions. It could be argued that these actions
The present study represents findings from a university-wide assessment project established to measure critical thinking dispositions and student educational outcomes at a private, four-year, liberal arts university. The central focus of the assessment study is to identify whether the positive characterological attributes of critical thinking increase in strength as a function of the ...
The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking : Its Character , Measurement , and Relationship to Critical Thinking Skill. F. A. Psychology. 2007; Theorists have hypothesized that skill in critical thinking is positively correlated with the consistent internal motivation to think and that specific critical thinking skills are matched with …
Theorists have hypothesized that skill in critical thinking is positively correlated with the consistent internal motivation to think and that specific critical thinking skills are matched with specific critical thinking dispositions. If true, these assumptions suggest that a skill-focused curriculum would lead persons to be both willing and able to think.
The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking: Its Character, Measurement, and Relationship to Critical Thinking Skill Peter A. Facione, Santa Clara University
Critical thinking involves both skills/ability and dispositions (Siegel 1999; Facione 2015) and thus both skills/ability and dispositions should be incorporated in instruction and assessment (Ennis 1996).. Disposition toward critical thinking. A disposition is an inclination to do something under certain circumstances (Ennis 1996).Thinking dispositions are genuine tendencies or inclinations ...
Developing student critical thinking skills is a core purpose of higher education, and requires the cognitive and disposition components of critical thinking to be fostered. The present study aims to examine the relationship between disposition towards critical thinking and engagement in higher education students. Participants were 836 students from two universities in Spain. Results showed a ...
Disposition towards critical thinking. This was evaluated using the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS; Spanish adaptation by Bravo et al., 2020; original instrument by Sosu, 2013). The CTDS comprises 11 items that measure critical openness (e.g., I usually try to think about the bigger picture during a discussion) and reflective ...
Critical thinking (CT) is a metacognitive process, consisting of a number of subskills and dispositions that, when used appropriately, increases the chances of producing a logical conclusion to an argument or solution to a problem. Though the CT literature argues that dispositions are as important to CT as is the ability to perform CT skills, the majority of research in the area has focused on ...
The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking 63 both the positive human disposition and its antithesis; at times we speak as if a human disposition might be stronger in one person than in another. We think of courage, compassion, trustworthiness and the like as part of a person's character.
Scores on the individual scales can. range from 10 to 60; scores above 40 indicate a positive tendency toward the disposition. The total score is a sum of the individual. scores and can range from 70 to 420; scores above 280 indicate a. positive overall disposition toward critical thinking.
Describes characteristics of critical thinking and the relationship of critical thinking skills to a disposition toward critical thought. Reviews the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, a research instrument designed to measure several elements of student critical thinking skills. Highlights findings from a study of college freshmen using the inventory.
Judgment in professional practice, correctly exercised, is a reflective, self-corrective, purposeful thinking process which requires the professional to take into account content knowledge, context, evidence, methods, conceptualizations, and a variety of criteria and standards of adequacy. Professional judgment is what educators have called ...
The disposition toward critical thinking is the consistent internal motivation to engage problems and make decisions by using thinking.2 A national survey of employers, policy-makers, and educators found consensus that the dispositional as well as the skills dimension of critical thinking should be considered an