The effect of critical thinking education on the critical thinking skills and the

critical thinking dispositions of preservice teachers

Palavan, Özcan

Article Number - 3EF9DD765146 Vol.15(10), pp. 606-627 , October 2020

https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2020.4035
Received: 17 July 2020 Accepted: 24 September 2020 Published: 31 October 2020

Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to identify the dispositions and opinions of prospective
teachers towards critical thinking and to develop primarily their critical thinking
dispositions. Pretest-posttest research design was implemented in this study
without a control group. The study group was formed with the purposive sampling
method. A total of 57 preservice teachers, of whom 26 were males and 31 were
females, volunteered for the study. California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale
was used for data collection and semi-structured interview form was used to obtain
the qualitative data. The overall critical thinking dispositions pre-test scores of
the students as well as the scores they have obtained in the sub-dimensions of
analyticalness, open mindedness, inquisitiveness, and systematicness revealed that
they had moderate dispositions in these sub-dimensions, whereas the scores they
obtained in the sub-dimensions of self-confidence and truth-seeking revealed that
they had low critical thinking dispositions in the respective sub-dimensions. The
overall critical thinking dispositions post-test scores of the students obtained
after the experimental procedure indicated a moderate disposition, as it was
revealed by the overall pre-test scores, with the exceptions of the sub-dimensions
of self-confidence and truth-seeking, in which the students' scores increased from
low to moderate. All in all, a significant difference was found between the mean
pretest and posttest scores. It was determined that when encountered an event or a
problem that the participants took cognizance of subjects such as paying attention
to the data available and unavailable, being attentive to seeking evidence,
developing empathy, making reasonable conclusions, and making judgments through
creating criteria when making decisions.These results have indicated that the
education provided contributes positively to critical thinking and to the critical
thinkingdisposition.

Terenzini, P.T., Springer, L., Pascarella, E.T. et al. Influences affecting the
development of students' critical thinking skills. Res High Educ 36, 23–39 (1995).
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02207765

Abstract
This study estimates the relative and unique effects on changes in critical
thinking of three dimensions of students' college experience: curricular exposure,
formal classroom and instructional experiences, and out-of-class experiences.
Students' classroom/instructional and out-of-class experiences both make positive,
statistically significant, and unique contributions to gains in critical thinking
above and beyond students' precollege characteristics and level of critical
thinking. Theoreticians have long speculated that students' academic and
nonacademic experiences jointly influence change, and this study supports that
belief. The design and instruments in this study may be of interest to persons
involved in assessment or the study of college impact.