Student’s Last Name 1

Importance of Critical Thinking in Higher Education

By (Name)

Course

Professor

University

Date
 Student’s Last Name 2

Introduction                                                                                                                       

Many professionals in tertiary education aim at helping learners to develop critical

thinking skills. Critical thinking is one of the skills that employers look for when recruiting

university graduates. The ability of learners to think critically is an area of interest amongst

education instructors and psychologists as they seek to understand aspects that influence the

attainment of thinking skills. Consequently, the acquisition of skills and the process of student

learning are highly influenced by critical thinking. This essay aims at defining critical thinking

and describing who a critical thinker is. The essay also aims at examining the development of

critical thinking skills and above all the importance of critical thinking tertiary institutions. 

Definition Critical Thinking

Critical can be defined as a type of reasoning that employs higher cognitive skills that

influence the probability of a desirable outcome. Scholars have argued that critical thinking

forms an integral part of the specific reasoning skills which form a solid foundation for the

curriculum as a whole. This type of thinking is grounded on the idea of rationality (Atabaki,

Keshtiaray and Yarmohammadian 2015, pp. 96). In this type of thinking, a critical thinker

becomes focused on finding reason and evidence and hence can be compared to a critical

consumer of information. For an individual to be able to firmly support his or her ideology, he or

she must have mastered certain skills.

One of the indispensable critical thinking skills is judgment. According to Dwyer, Hogan,

and Stewart (2014), this skill enables learners to judge the credibility of information and should,

therefore, be repeatedly and deliberately taught in higher education (pp. 45). Atabaki,

Keshtiaray, and Yarmohammadian (2015) differentiate between a higher sense and a lower sense
 Student’s Last Name 3

of critical thinking (pp. 94). According to these authors, a higher sense means that the learner

integrated the critical thinking skills in his ways of living whereby he can be able to reexamine

and question his own assumptions. A lower sense, on the other hand, means that the learner has

learned the critical thinking skills but cannot use the skills to reexamine and question his own

assumptions.

Atabaki, Keshtiaray, and Yarmohammadian (2015) argue that critical thinking allows

individuals to overcome the influence of their socio-centric and egocentric beliefs. This means

that critical thinking is vital to human beings because it helps individuals to shape their nature

and destiny. It is important to note that this mode of thinking focuses on deciding what to do and

what to believe, which usually leads to effective doing. (Liu, Frankel & Roohr 2014) claim that

the ability to use logic to distinguish between what is wrong and what is right depends on critical

thinking (pp. 6). Therefore, critical thinking is considered to be an indispensable ability that

drives success in society. Hence it has been proclaimed as a need in realizing the objectives in

higher learning.

The Meaning of a critical thinker

There are lots of questions that seek to understand who a critical thinker is. For instance,

some people seek to understand why some individuals are better in problem-solving and decision

making than others, why some individuals are better at supporting their actions and beliefs with

good reasons than others, among other lots of questions obsessing every intellectual mind. The

answer to these questions may seem obvious, that some individuals are cleverer than others.

However, one thing that we need to ask ourselves is; is being clever enough? Being clever that

another person only means that one is more eloquent or has more knowledge than others, this
 Student’s Last Name 4

does not mean that the individual is a good critical thinker (Atabaki, Keshtiaray and

Yarmohammadian 2015, pp. 96). Being a good critical thinker requires the individual to have

better skills to analyze and evaluate claims, sources, opinions, and options.

Straková and Cimermanová (2018) argues that a critical thinker is a better decision-

maker and problem-solver because critical thinking requires one to use his or her intelligence and

knowledge effectively to come up with the most justifiable and reasonable claim possible (p.

3366). No matter knowledgeable or intelligent an individual is, if he or she does not think

critically, he will make decision unreasonably and will influence him to make unjustifiable

actions (Straková and Cimermanová 2018, p. 3366). This will lead to unreasonable beliefs that

will eventually make people trust and believe in the wrong reasons.

A critical thinker is an individual who is not gullible or dogmatic; rather, he or she is an

individual who is characterized by skepticism and open-mindedness. These two are the most

unique characteristics of a critical thinker. The open-minded nature of a critical thinker is defined

by his willingness to look at issues from different perspectives, examining both the positive and

negative sides of each perspective (Liu, Frankel and Roohr 2014, pp. 12). A critical thinker

ought to nurture an intuit of healthy cynicism alongside an aptitude to be open-minded more so

when it comes to considering points of view contrary to his own (Wang, Liyanage and Walker

2019, pp. 190). A critical thinker does not have to be critical of others or argumentative. 

A critical thinker does not have to be too much skeptic because this attitude can lead to

doubting everything and doing nothing. Similarly, he ought not to have too little skepticism

because this can make him gullible. Ultimately, for individuals to function well in the world they

need to understand the fact that some things are, just the way they seem (Kuhn 2018, pp. 124;
 Student’s Last Name 5

Straková and Cimermanová 2018, p. 3366). This calls for trust. If individuals can evaluate the

root of what is believed to be true, they can be in a position to differentiate where it is useful to

be skeptical and when it is reasonable to be trusted. 

Researchers have come up with a variety of abilities and dispositions associated with

critical thinking. These include the aptitude to reason logically and remain skeptic in the

reflection. In critical thinking, skepticism means the ability to bring forth a component of polite

doubt. This doesn’t imply that an individual has to live a life of doubting everything she hears or

sees (Liu, Frankel and Roohr 2014, pp. 12). Skepticism means an individual is open-minded

about the possibility that he knows at a particular time is only a part of the greater picture. 

Other being skeptic and open-minded, critical thinkers are characterized by their maturity

judgments, ability to take a position and defend it, and ability to be flexible, creative and

reflective. Creative thinkers are also characterized by being systematic and truth-seeking,

genuine, self-disciplined and having a high degree of self-awareness (Dwyer, Hogan and Stewart

2014, pp. 45; Wang, Liyanage and Walker 2019, pp. 190). Nonetheless, critical thinking is

indicated by the intention to reflect on significant issues while engaging in critical thinking, the

capability to be self-motivated and inclined to achieve the set goals as well as the aptitude to

make decisions and solve problems. Researchers have agreed that dimensions of skill and

disposition describe critical thinking capability.

Importance of Critical thinking 

Students in higher education need to think critically because the content in tertiary

learning requires higher-order thinking. The content of education at the college level requires

leaners to have the ability to critically evaluate and provide evidence for their points, views, and
 Student’s Last Name 6

opinions (Ennis 2018, pp. 169; Huber and Kuncel 2016, pp. 454). In most cases, learners in

higher institutions seem contented with their initial clarifications of what they have read (Davies

2015, pp. 52; Franco and Vieira 2019, pp. 1316). They seem perplexed when they are asked to

defend or explain their points of view (Stupple et al. 2017, pp. 92). In most cases, the responses

of the learners to evaluation items that require the defense of a judgmental point of view,

analysis of information or explanation of criteria were unsatisfactory and disappointing

(Bezanilla et al. 2019, pp. 100584; Cebrián and Junyent 2015, pp. 2772). Researches have

confirmed that only a few learners can give satisfactory responses to tasks that require deep

reflection and judgments of decisions and points of view (Ryan Mary and Ryan Michael 2013,

pp. 246). However, these students show little ability to show their critical thinking or well

problem-solving skills (Cebrián and Junyent 2015, pp. 2772). However, the capability to think

critically is often seen as a universal objective of leaning in tertiary institutions.  

Critical thinking is important for students in higher education because it helps the

students not to accept their reasoning as sufficient evidence but to analyze the given information

and support their evidence with solid ideas. In most cases, learners in colleges and universities

depend on their instructors for information and ideas; this has made education in a majority of

higher learning institutions to be teacher-centered rather than learner-centered (Davies 2015, pp.

52). When learners develop critical thinking skills, they would accept the fact that they can be

able to control their own learning by being reflective and judgmental about their points of view. 

The second importance of critical thinking in higher learning is that it nurtures

individuals who are self-corrective, self-directed, self-monitored and self-disciplined. Critical

thinking stimulates conscious command of ideas among students and encourages assent to

rigorous standards of excellence (Erikson and Erikson, 2018, pp 8). Instead of waiting for the
 Student’s Last Name 7

instructors to judge their points of view, students can make their own judgments to determine

what is wrong and what is right through effective problem-solving abilities.

Thirdly, critical thinking helps students to develop better problem-solving abilities that

would enable them to face the real-world situations and not just the problems in their class

assignments. One of the objectives of higher education is to prepare students for the world of

work (Stone, Duffy, Pinckney and Templeton-Bradley 2017, pp. 70). Once students complete

their higher education, they are ushered into the world of work. In the current world, employers

seek to recruit graduates with better problem-solving skills, those who can think critically and

come up with creative solutions to help organizations remain competitive on the global market

(Erikson and Erikson, 2018, pp 8). For example, if the individual is allowed to become a team

leader, he should be able to analyze the challenges that affecting their team and come up with

effective recommendations on how those challenges can be addressed (Uribe-Enciso, Enciso and

Daza 2017, pp. 81). Graduates who do not possess critical thinking and problem-solving skills

tend to miss out on great job opportunities in the labor market.

The fourth importance is that critical thinking skills enable students in higher levels of

learning to develop a range of skills that can be used in any circumstance in life which needs

analysis, reflection, and planning. The society is characterized by egocentric and socio-centric

beings. This nature of individuals can be changed by teaching graduates to be critical thinkers so

that they can be able to assess, analyze and reconstruct how individuals in the society think

(Figueiró and Raufflet, 2015). Through critical thinking, learners will able to create a society free

from bias or ego because critical thinking helps learners to think in a self-corrected and self-

regulated manner. Therefore, integrating critical thinking in tertiary education will help

individuals to overcome socio-centrism and egocentrism (Figueiró and Raufflet, 2015). This
 Student’s Last Name 8

mode of thinking also helps individuals to organize their lives appropriately and live meaningful

lives by being able to contemplate and justify their values and decisions. It thus creates a

platform for self-evaluation.

Fifth, critical thinking will form a basis of domain-general thinking skills among learners

in higher institutions of learning. A majority of students at the university and colleges become

confused about what to do after graduation from school because they are not sure whether they

would find employment in their field of study immediately after graduating (Stone, Duffy,

Pinckney and Templeton-Bradley 2017, pp. 70). Having critical thinking skills would help

students to think clearly and rationally and enable them to work in any subject area since these

thinking skills are not limited to one subject area. 

The sixth importance of critical thinking in tertiary learning is it enables learners to adapt

to changes quickly and efficiently. The current economy is characterized by information

technology. Organizations seek to recruit individuals who can analyze ideas and incorporate a

wide range of sources of knowledge in problem-solving. Flexible intellectual skills are a

prerequisite for every organizational setting (Stone, Duffy, Pinckney and Templeton-Bradley

2017, pp. 70). Such skills can only be stimulated through critical thinking and are indispensable

for the fast-changing global workplace. 

The language and presentation skills of workers are also enhanced through critical

thinking. Due to the diversity of the workplace, organizations seek to recruit individuals who can

reason systematically and clearly and find the most appropriate way to express their ideas (Leal

Filho et al. 2018, pp 290). These comprehension abilities can be enhanced through integrating
 Student’s Last Name 9

critical thinking in colleges and universities since critical thinking skills improve the way

individuals scrutinize the logical structure of information. 

Moreover, critical thinking enables individuals to become creative. Since higher

education marks the transition into the corporate world, learners need to develop critical thinking

skills so that they can be able to generate new ideas that are relevant to the task at hand (Uribe-

Enciso, Enciso and Daza 2017, pp. 81). When an individual possesses critical thinking skills, he

or she would be in a good position to evaluate his or her ideas and come up with the best possible

ideas and modify them id need arises.

Lastly, a liberal democratic society, as well as science, emanate from good critical

thinking. According to Lodge, O’Connor, Shaw and Burton (2015) the critical use of theory

confirmation and experimentation is the foundation of science (pp. 393). Thinking critically

enables graduates to become citizens who can critically think and analyze the social matters that

guide their judgments on proper governance (Leal Filho et al. 2018, pp 290). This can help the

society to overcome prejudice and bias.

Conclusion

The truth is that critical thinking is a very essential aspect of higher education.

Institutions of higher learning should learn to embrace critical thinking because the world

desperately needs critical thinkers and good problem solvers. Critical thinking is important

because it helps learners to analyze the given information and support their evidence with solid

ideas, develop better problem-solving abilities that would enable them to face the real world

situations and not just the problems in their class assignments, develop a range of skills that can

be used an any circumstance in life which needs analysis, reflection and planning and think
 Student’s Last Name 10

clearly and rationally and enable them to work in any subject area since these thinking skills are

not limited to a particular subject area. This type of thinking also enables learners to deal with

changes quickly and effectively helping them to adapt to the fast-changing global workplace, it

also enables learners to language and presentation skills to reason systematically and clearly and

find the most appropriate way to express their ideas and become citizens who can critically think

and analyze the social matters that guide their judgments on proper governance.
 Student’s Last Name 11

Bibliography

Atabaki, A.M.S., Keshtiaray, N. and Yarmohammadian, M.H., 2015. Scrutiny of Critical

Thinking Concept. International Education Studies, 8(3), pp.93-102.

Bezanilla, M.J., Fernández-Nogueira, D., Poblete, M. and Galindo-Domínguez, H., 2019.

Methodologies for teaching-learning critical thinking in higher education: The teacher’s

view. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 33, p.100584.

Cebrián, G. and Junyent, M., 2015. Competencies in education for sustainable development:

Exploring the student teachers’ views. Sustainability, 7(3), pp.2768-2786.

Davies, M., 2015. A model of critical thinking in higher education. In Higher education:

Handbook of theory and research (pp. 41-92). Springer, Cham.

Dwyer, C.P., Hogan, M.J. and Stewart, I., 2014. An integrated critical thinking framework for

the 21st century. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 12, pp.43-52.

Ennis, R.H., 2018. Critical thinking across the curriculum: A vision. Topoi, 37(1), pp.165-184.

Erikson, M.G. and Erikson, M., 2018. Learning outcomes and critical thinking–good intentions

in conflict. Studies in Higher Education, pp.1-11.

Figueiró, P.S. and Raufflet, E., 2015. Sustainability in higher education: a systematic review with

focus on management education. Journal of cleaner production, 106, pp.22-33.

Franco, A. and Vieira, R., 2019, July. Promoting critical thinking in higher education in the

context of teacher professional development. In HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on

Higher Education Advances (pp. 1313-1320). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València.

 Student’s Last Name 12

Huber, C.R. and Kuncel, N.R., 2016. Does college teach critical thinking? A meta-

analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), pp.431-468.

Kuhn, D., 2018. A role for reasoning in a dialogic approach to critical thinking. Topoi, 37(1),

pp.121-128.

Leal Filho, W., Raath, S., Lazzarini, B., Vargas, V.R., de Souza, L., Anholon, R., Quelhas,

O.L.G., Haddad, R., Klavins, M. and Orlovic, V.L., 2018. The role of transformation in learning

and education for sustainability. Journal of cleaner production, 199, pp.286-295.

Liu, O.L., Frankel, L. and Roohr, K.C., 2014. Assessing critical thinking in higher education:

Current state and directions for next‐generation assessment. ETS Research Report

Series, 2014(1), pp.1-23.

Lodge, J.M., O’Connor, E., Shaw, R. and Burton, L., 2015. Applying cognitive science to critical

thinking among higher education students. In The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in

higher education (pp. 391-407). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Ryan, M. and Ryan, M., 2013. Theorising a model for teaching and assessing reflective learning

in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(2), pp.244-257.

Stone, G.A., Duffy, L.N., Pinckney, H.P. and Templeton-Bradley, R., 2017. Teaching for critical

thinking: preparing hospitality and tourism students for careers in the twenty-first

century. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 17(2), pp.67-84.

Straková, Z. and Cimermanová, I., 2018. Critical thinking development—A necessary step in

higher education transformation towards Sustainability. Sustainability, 10(10), p.3366.

 Student’s Last Name 13

Stupple, E.J., Maratos, F.A., Elander, J., Hunt, T.E., Cheung, K.Y. and Aubeeluck, A.V., 2017.

Development of the Critical Thinking Toolkit (CriTT): A measure of student attitudes and

beliefs about critical thinking. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 23, pp.91-100.

Uribe-Enciso, O. L., Enciso, D. S. U., & Daza, M. D. P. V. (2017). Critical thinking and its

importance in education: some reflections. Rastros Rostros, 19(34), 78-88.

Wang, A., Liyanage, I. and Walker, T., 2019. Scrutinising critical thinking (CT) in Chinese

higher education: Perceptions of Chinese academics. In Multilingual Education Yearbook

2019 (pp. 189-208). Springer, Cham.