Main Article Content

José Lopes
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Portugal
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6845-8371
Biography
Helena Silva
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Portugal
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2855-9634
Biography
Eva Morais
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Portugal
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3815-9821
Biography
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2018), Articles, pages 82-91
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17979/reipe.2018.5.2.3339
Submitted: Feb 20, 2018 Accepted: Aug 4, 2018 Published: Dec 1, 2018
How to Cite

Abstract

The importance of critical thinking in education is supported by numerous researches for decades. In the absence of a critical thinking test (CTT) designed to be used in Portugal, the focus of this paper is the presentation of a critical thinking test for Portuguese adolescents. We present the exploratory validation study of this instrument, administered to 128 students, aged 12 to 19, attending elementary and secondary schools of low and high socioeconomic status. The construct validity of the nine-item instrument was estimated using an Exploratory Factorial Analysis (AFE), to evaluate the multidimensionality of the CTT. There were three factors: creation, argumentation and explanation, explaining 70.07% of the total variance .We found significant differences between grades and schools. The results suggest that the development of critical thinking skills is related to the grade and students’ socioeconomic status.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

References

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.) (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York, NY: Longman.

Arslan, S. (2012). The influence of environment education on critical thinking and environmental attitude. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 55(2012), 902-909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.579

Bailin, S. (2002). Critical thinking and science education. Science & Education, 11(4), 361–375. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016042608621

Bartosh, O. (2009). Learning through environmental education: Exploring the influences of environmental education programs on student learning and achievement. Thesis of Doctor of Philosophy in The Faculty of Graduate Studies, The Universıty of British Columbia. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0055238

Bloom, B.S. (Ed.), Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. New York, NY: David McKay.

Bonk, C. J., & Smith, G. S. (1998). Alternative instructional strategies for creative and critical thinking in the accounting curriculum. Journal of Accounting Education, 16(2), 261–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0748-5751(98)00012-8

Bourdieu, P. (2011). The forms of capital. In I. Szeman & T. Kaposy (Eds.), Cultural theory: An anthology (pp. 81-93). Madden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Breen, R., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). Explaining educational differentials towards a formal rational action theory. Rationality and Society, 9(3), 275–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/104346397009003002

Brown, T. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Butler, H. A. (2012). Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment predicts Real-World Outcomes of critical thinking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(5), 721-729. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.2851

Cheung, C., Rudowicz, E., Lang, G., Yue, X., & Kwan, A. (2001). Critical thinking among university students: Does the family background matter? College Student Journal, 35(4), 577–597.

Clark, L., & Watson, D. (1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 309-319. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.7.3.309

Conley, D. T. (2015). A new era for educational assessment. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23(8), 1-41. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v23.1983

Costello, A., & Osborne, J. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 10(7), 1-9. http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=10&n=7

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Dwyer, C., Hogan, M., & Stewart, I. (2014). An integrated critical thinking framework for the 21st century. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 12(2014), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2013.12.004

Ennis, R. (1985). A logical basis for measuring critical thinking skills. Educational Leadership, 43(2), 44–48. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/80a7/c7d4a98987590751df4b1bd9adf747fd7aaa.pdf

Ennis, R., & Millman, J. (1985). Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X. Seaside, CA: The Critical Thinking Company. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications

Ennis, R., & Millman, J. (2005). Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X (5th ed. rev). Seaside, CA: The Critical Thinking Company.

Ennis, R., & Weir, E. (1985). The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications.

Facione, P. (1990a). The California Critical Thinking Skills Test: College Level. Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press.

Facione, P. (1990b). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction (The Delphi Report). Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press.

Facione, P. (1990c). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. Research findings and recommendations. Newark, DE: American Philosophical Association. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED315423.pdf

Facione, P. (2011). Think critically. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pearson Education.

Facione, P.A., & Facione, N.C. (2007). Talking critical thinking. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 39(2), 38-45. https://doi.org/10.3200/CHNG.39.2.38-45

Franco, A. H. R. (2016). Pensamento crítico: Desenvolvimento e mediação no quadro das experiências académicas no Ensino Superior. Tese de doutoramento. Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal.

Franco, A., & Almeida, L. S. (2017). Definição e medida do pensamento crítico. In L. S. Almeida (Coord.), Criatividade e pensamento crítico: Conceito, avaliação e desenvolvimento (pp. 107-132). Porto: CERPSI - Centro de Estudos e Recursos em Psicologia.

Gelerstein, D., Del Río, R., Nussbaum, M. Chiuminatto, P., & López, X. (2016). Designing and implementing a test for measuring critical thinking in primary school. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 20(2016), 40-49. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.02.002

Glaser, E. M. (1985). An experiment in the development of critical thinking. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Greenhill, V. (2009). P21 framework definitions document. www.p21.org/documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf

Griffin, P., Mcgaw, B. & Care, E. (2012). Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills. New York: NY: Springer.

Guilford, J. (1986). Creative Talents: Their nature, uses and development. Buffalo, NY: Bearly Ltd.

Halpern, D. (2003). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (4th ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53(4), 449-455. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.53.4.449

Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (5th ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Hamalainen, R., & Vahasantanen, K. (2011). Theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on orchestrating creativity and collaborative learning. Educational Research Review, 6(3), 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2011.08.001

Heyman, G. (2008). Children's critical thinking when learning from others. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(5), p. 344-347. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00603.x

Jenkins, E. (1998). The significant role of critical thinking in predicting auditing students' performance. Journal of Education for Business, 73(5), 274-279. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832329809601644

Kennedy, M., Fisher, M. B., & Ennis, R. H. (1991). Critical thinking: Literature review and needed research. In L. Idol & B.F. Jones (Eds.), Educational values and cognitive instruction: Implications for reform (pp. 11-40). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates.

Ku, K. (2009). Assessing students’ critical thinking performance: Urging for measurements using multi-response format. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4, 70–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2009.02.001

Kuhn, D. (1999). A developmental model of critical thinking. Educational Researcher, 28(2), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X028002016

Lai, E. (2011). Critical thinking: A literature review. Pearson's Research Reports, 6, 40-41. https://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/CriticalThinkingReviewFINAL.pdf

Landis, R., & Koch, G. (1977). An application of hierarchical kappa-type statistics in the assessment of majority agreement among multiple observers. Biometrics, 33(1), 363-374. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529786

Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2012). The new division of labor: How computers are creating the next job market. Princeton: NJ: Princeton University Press.

Marôco, J. (2011). Análise estatística com utilização do SPSS (5ª ed). Lisboa: Sílabo.

Marques, J. (2012). Moving from trance to think: Why we need to polish our critical thinking skills. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(1), 87-95. http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/ijls/new/vol7iss1/IJLS_Vol7Iss1_Marques_pp87-95.pdf

Ministério da Educação (2017). Perfil dos alunos à saída da escolaridade obrigatória. Lisboa: Ministério da Educação. http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Curriculo/Projeto_Autonomia_e_Flexibilidade/perfil_dos_alunos.pdf

Mira, M. (2005). Trabalho experimental em biologia: Contributo para o desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico em alunos do 10º ano de escolaridade. Tese de mestrado. Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa.

Morais, M. F., & Fleith, D. S. (2017). Conceito e avaliação da criatividade. In L. S. Almeida (Coord.), Criatividade e pensamento crítico: Conceito, avaliação e desenvolvimento (pp. 19-44). Porto: CERPSI - Centro de Estudos e Recursos em Psicologia.

Moss, P. Koziol, S. (1991). Investigating the validity of a locally developed critical thinking test. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 10(3), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3992.1991.tb00199.x

Mulnix, J. (2012). Thinking critically about critical thinking. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44(5), 464-479. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00673.x

Nickerson, R. (1988). On improving thinking through instruction. Review of Research in Education, 15(3), 3-57. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X015001003

Norris, S. P., & Ennis, R. H. (1989). Evaluating critical thinking. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publication.

Nussbaum, M. C. (2010). Not for profit: Why democracy needs the humanities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

OECD. (2015). Universal basic skills: What countries stand to gain. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264234833-en

Oliveira, M. (1992). A criatividade, o pensamento crítico e o aproveitamento escolar dos alunos de Ciências. (Tese de doutoramento não publicada). Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa.

Paul, R. (1992). Critical thinking: What, why, and how? New Directions for Community Colleges, 77, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.36819927703

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2005). Estándares de competencia para el pensamiento crítico. Fundación para el Pensamiento Crítico. https://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/PDF/SP-Comp_Standards.pdf

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: The nature of critical and creative thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 30(2), 34–35. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42775621

Pestana, M., & Gageiro, J. (2008). Análise de dados para ciências sociais: a complementaridade do SPSS. Lisboa: Sílabo.

Pinto, I. R. F. (2011). Atividades promotoras de pensamento crítico: Sua eficácia em alunos de ciências da natureza do 5.º ano de escolaridade. Tese de mestrado. Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa.

Saiz, C., & Rivas, S. (2008). Intervenir para transferir en Pensamiento Crítico. Praxis, 10(13), 129–149. http://www.pensamiento-critico.com/archivos/intervensaizrivas.pdf

Sayed, Y. (2013). Making education a priority in the post-2015 development agenda: Report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Shepardson, D. P. (2005). Student ideas: What is an environment? The Journal of Environmental Education, 36(4), 49-58. Recuperado de: https://search.proquest.com/docview/233048216?accountid=17197

Sternberg, R. (1986). Critical thinking: Its nature, measurement, and improvement. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education. http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED272882.pdf

Sternberg, R., Roediger, H., & Halpern, D. (2007). Critical thinking in psychology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Thayer-Bacon, B. (2000). Transforming critical thinking: Thinking constructively. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Tighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2013). Essential questions: opening doors to student understanding. Alexandria: VA: ASCD.

Van Prooijen, J. W., & Van Der Kloot, W. A. (2001). Confirmatory analysis of exploratively obtained factor structures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 61(5), 777-792. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131640121971518

Watson, G., & Glaser, E. M. (2009). Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. London: Pearson Assessment.

Williams, R., Oliver, R. Allin, J., Winn, B., & Booher, C. (2003). Psychological critical thinking as a course predictor and outcome variable. Teaching of Psychology, 30(3), 220-223. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328023TOP3003_04

Yeh, S. (2001). Tests worth teaching to: Constructing state-mandated tests that emphasize critical thinking. Educational Researcher, 30(9), 12-17. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X030009012