Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
1997
Disciplines
Education | Higher Education | Psychiatry and Psychology
Advisor
Richard Wielkiewicz
Abstract
This study investigated the differences among first-year, sophomore, junior, and senior college students in critical thinking skills and dispositions as measured by the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and the California Critical Thinking dispositions Inventory. Tests were administered to college students from a small, private institution in a rural area of the Midwest enrolled in general education courses with a majority being first-year and senior students. Consistent with the hypothesis, critical thinking skills and dispositions differed significantly between first-year, sophomore, junior, and senior students. Scores on the two tests were significantly correlated with each other, and scores on the skills test and the dispositions inventory were both significantly correlated with cumulative GPA. The results indicate that critical thinking skills and dispositions grow as a function of progress through general education courses in the liberal arts. In some way throughout the college years, critical thinking skills and dispositions are enhanced in students.
Copyright Statement
Available by permission of the author. Reproduction or retransmission of this material in any form is prohibited without expressed written permission of the author.
Recommended Citation
Goebel, Amy, "An Analysis of Critical Thinking at a Liberal Arts College" (1997). Honors Theses, 1963-2015. 588.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/honors_theses/588