Critical Thinking Skills Among Criminology and Criminal Justice Majors

• In Event: The Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Criminal Justice Students

Abstract

Critical Thinking (CT) has been endorsed as goal of higher education by virtually everyone involved in the process or with a stake in its outcome: faculty, administrators, and employers routinely rank critical thinking skills at the top of desired competencies for college graduates. Criminologists certainly recognize the importance of developing CT skills among our students. However, while some cognate disciplines have weighed in on CT among their majors (e.g. political science, psychology), there is an absence of published efforts to assess CT among criminology and criminal justice majors. This paper reports on a preliminary assessment of CT skills among incoming and graduating CCJ majors at a large public university.

Authors

• Kate Hanrahan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• Shavonne Arthurs, Seton Hill University