Critical thinking in college: differential analysis by academic year and scientific area

Abstract

Critical thinking is associated to multiple advantages in academic, personal, or professional life, such as higher quality decisions, a more efficient ability to solve problems, or active citizenship. To analyze the quality of critical thinking of the average college student, we assessed a sample of freshmen students taking a degree course (n=177) or a master's degree (n=155), in the scientific area of social sciences and humanities, or science and technology, with the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (Halpern, 2012). Results indicate differences in critical thinking according to academic year and scientific area, with master students taking a course in the area of science and technology scoring higher on this critical thinking assessment test. Higher education may have a positive impact on the quality of students' critical thinking.