Are Critical Thinking Skills Content Specific or Generic? Evidence From Large-Scale International Student Assessment Data

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Division C Section 1C: Topics in Mathematics Education (San Diego)

Abstract

The debate over the content specificity of critical thinking skills has been outstanding at least for the last three decades. Much of the prior work tends to focus on theoretical arguments and does not provide empirical evidence to support either side of the positions. The present study provides empirical evidence for the debate using large-scale international student assessment data. It found strong evidence that critical thinking skills are a combination of generic and content-specific skills with more weights toward the generic aspect. PreK-12 schools and higher education institutions may teach the skills in courses that exclusively focus on the development of the skills and/or embed the teaching of the skills in content-specific courses.

Author

• Hajime Mitani, Rowan University