An Investigation of University Students' Critical Thinking Disposition and Perceived Problem Solving Skills.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	An Investigation of University Students' Critical Thinking Disposition and Perceived Problem Solving Skills.
Alternate Title:	Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Eleştirel Düşünme Eğilimleri ve Problem Çözme Becerilerinin İncelenmesi.
Authors:	Tümkaya, Songül¹ stumkaya@cu.edu.tr, Aybek, Birsel² baybek@cu.edu.tr, Aldaş, Habibe³ habibe@cu.edu.tr
Source:	Eurasian Journal of Educational Research (EJER). Jul2009, Issue 36, p57-74. 18p. 2 Charts.
Subject Terms:	Critical thinking, College students, Research, Psychological research, *Decision making, Problem solving in adolescence
Abstract (English):	Problem Statement: Research studies related to developing critical thinking and problem solving as cognitive thinking skills are increasing in Turkey; however, the affective side of the issue is still being neglected. Critical thinking dispositions and perceived problem solving skills are important factors for determining educational needs of students. Purpose of Study: The main purpose of this study was to determine the differences in university students' critical thinking disposition and perceived problem solving skills based on gender, grade level, and field of study. The relationship between critical thinking disposition and problem solving skills was also examined. Methods: This research was conducted at a university setting in Turkey. Participants consisted of 353 volunteer students from various departments. Facione and Facione's (1996) "California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory" and Heppner and Petersen's (1982) "Problem Solving Inventory" were used to gather the data. A Personal Information Form was developed to collect data on students' demographics. A Pearson product moment correlations and multivariate test (MANOVA) was used with a .05 significance level to analyze the data. Findings and Results: The result of this study indicates that a better disposition towards critical thinking was associated with greater problem solving skills. We found that gender was not a significant variable related to critical thinking disposition or to perceived problem solving skills. The students' field of study was related to critical thinking dispositions but it was not related to perceived problem solving skills; social science students had higher levels of these variables compared to science students. Grade level was significantly related to both problem solving and critical thinking dispositions. This result indicates that the students' levels of problem solving skills and critical thinking dispositions increase as they continue in their college education. Instructional programs for supporting critical thinking and problem solving skill, without neglecting the affective side of these concepts, must be incorporated into college curricula. Conclusions: Problem solving skills are related to critical thinking dispositions. A university education is positively correlated with perceived problem solving skills as well as critical thinking dispositions. Field of study is another factor that determins critical thinking disposition levels. In addition, the interaction between gender and field of study was positively related to problem solving skills. Recommendations: Increasing activities which develop critical thinking and problem solving skills through counseling services and integrating these activities into the instructional program would help students in their development of these skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Abstract (Turkish):	Problem Durumu: Günümüzde eğitimden beklenen en önemli görev, demokratik, yaratıcı, üretici, eleştirel ve çok yönlü düşünebilen, öğrenmeyi öğrenen, problem çözebilen, insanlara saygılı ve düşüncelere hoşgörü ile bakabilen sorumlu vatandaşlar yetiştirmektir. Birçok eğitimci eğitim kurumlarında ve özellikle üniversitelerdeki derslerin içeriğinin ancak düşünülerek ve problem çözerek öğrenilebileceğini aksi halde öğrencilerin birçok bilgiyi ezberleme yoluna gideceklerini belirtmektedir. Türkiye'de eleştirel düşünme ve problem çözme becerilerine ilişkin araştırma sayısında son yıllarda artış gözlenmektedir. Ancak diğer eğitimsel çözüm ve araştırmalarda olduğu gibi duyuşsal yön yine ihmal edilmektedir. Bu nedenle bu araştırmada üniversite öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme eğilimleri ile problem çözme becerileri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, eleştirel düşünme eğilimi ile problem çözme becerisi arasında anlamlı bir ilişkinin olup olmadığını ortaya koymak ve ayrıca üniversite öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme eğilimleri ile problem çözme becerilerinin; cinsiyet, sınıf düzeyi ve eğitim gördükleri alanlara göre anlamlı bir şekilde farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığını belirlemektir.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Eurasian Journal of Educational Research (EJER) is the property of Eurasian Journal of Educational Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Problem Statement: Research studies related to developing critical thinking and problem solving as cognitive thinking skills are increasing in Turkey; however, the affective side of the issue is still being neglected. Critical thinking dispositions and perceived problem solving skills are important factors for determining educational needs of students. Purpose of Study: The main purpose of this study was to determine the differences in university students' critical thinking disposition and perceived problem solving skills based on gender, grade level, and field of study. The relationship between critical thinking disposition and problem solving skills was also examined. Methods: This research was conducted at a university setting in Turkey. Participants consisted of 353 volunteer students from various departments. Facione and Facione's (1996) "California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory" and Heppner and Petersen's (1982) "Problem Solving Inventory" were used to gather the data. A Personal Information Form was developed to collect data on students' demographics. A Pearson product moment correlations and multivariate test (MANOVA) was used with a .05 significance level to analyze the data. Findings and Results: The result of this study indicates that a better disposition towards critical thinking was associated with greater problem solving skills. We found that gender was not a significant variable related to critical thinking disposition or to perceived problem solving skills. The students' field of study was related to critical thinking dispositions but it was not related to perceived problem solving skills; social science students had higher levels of these variables compared to science students. Grade level was significantly related to both problem solving and critical thinking dispositions. This result indicates that the students' levels of problem solving skills and critical thinking dispositions increase as they continue in their college education. Instructional programs for supporting critical thinking and problem solving skill, without neglecting the affective side of these concepts, must be incorporated into college curricula. Conclusions: Problem solving skills are related to critical thinking dispositions. A university education is positively correlated with perceived problem solving skills as well as critical thinking dispositions. Field of study is another factor that determins critical thinking disposition levels. In addition, the interaction between gender and field of study was positively related to problem solving skills. Recommendations: Increasing activities which develop critical thinking and problem solving skills through counseling services and integrating these activities into the instructional program would help students in their development of these skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	1302597X