Critical Thinking Dispositions of Undergraduate Art Education and History Students

Rasim Basak, Eda Yucel

Abstract


In an ever-changing world, we have been witnessing many developments in our lives. A way to keep up with these developments will be possible through necessary skills such as critical thinking. In the literature, art education is suggested specifically as a contributor for creative skill development and critical thinking skills. The objective of this study was to examine and evaluate students’ critical thinking skills based on undergraduate subject area of study. Accordingly, students’ critical thinking skills were examined within critical thinking sub-dimensions in addition to variables of gender, age, and year of study. The sample groups consisted of undergraduate freshman and senior students studying Art Education and History. The study was structured according to the relational screening model, and the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (CCTT-Z) was used to measure critical thinking skills. Results of the study revealed that, critical thinking skill levels of the students were low in both cohorts and there was no statistically significant difference according to study areas. The results also showed no meaningful difference in critical thinking skills of freshman and senior students within the group who are studying Art Education. Similarly, demographics such as gender and year of study made no particular difference in terms of students’ critical thinking scores. The cohort of 25-30 age group showed a relatively positive difference in terms of age variable as compared to other cohorts. It was concluded that critical thinking skills could be supported by means of designing a curriculum that encourages and develops critical thinking skills and creative thinking through specific educational strategies.

Keywords


Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z, CCTT-Z, Art Education, Creativity, Literacy, Visual Literacy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Adıgüzel, H. (2002). Creative Drama (Yaratıcı drama). Naturel Publishing.

Al-Husban, N. A., Mashaleh, M., & Damrah, L. (2022). Exploring first and fourth year university students’ level of critical thinking skills at Arab Open University-Jordan. Curriculum and Teaching, 37(2), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/37.2.05

Al-Mahrooqi, R., & Denman, C. J. (2020). Assessing students’ critical thinking skills in the humanities and sciences colleges of a Middle Eastern university. International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 783-796. 10.29333/iji.2020.13150a

Aybek, B. (2006). The effect of content and skill based critical thinking training on prospective teachers’ critical thinking levels and dispositions. (Konu ve beceri temelli eleştirel düşünme öğretiminin öğretmen adaylarının eleştirel düşünme eğilimi ve düzeyine etkisi) [Doctoral Dissertation]. # 205450, Cukurova University.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design, qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches (Araştırma deseni, nitel, nicel ve karma yöntem yaklaşımları). Eğiten Kitap Publishing.

Demircioğlu, A. (2018). Creative thinking education (Eleştirel düşünme eğitimi). Gece Books.

Dilmaç, O. (2010). An investigation of effects of major area courses on creative thinking skills of preservice art teachers (Alan derslerinin görsel sanatlar öğretmeni adaylarının yaratıcı düşünme becerileri üzerindeki etkilerinin incelenmesi). Balıkesir Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 13(23), 79-92.

Doğanay, A. (2017). Instructional methods and principles (Öğretim ilke ve yöntemleri. Pegem Akademi Publishing.

Emanuel, R. C., & Challons, L. S. (2012). Helping students transition to critical and creative thinking at the ıntersection of communication and art. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(11), 1-9.

Ennis, R. H., Millman, J., & Tomko, T. N. (2005). Cornell Critical Thinking Tests Level X & Level Z manual (5th ed.). The Critical Thinking Co.

Gel, H. Y. (1993). Problems encountered in primary and secondary level art education. (Türkiye’de güzel sanatlar eğitiminin resim-iş olarak anılan disiplinlerinin ilk ve ortaöğretim düzeyindeki sorunları). 1st Educational Sciences Congress (Eğitim Bilimleri Birinci Kongresi), Eğitim Programları ve Öğretim, 299-272.

Guilford, J. P. (1967). The Nature of human intelligence. McGraw Hill.

Gülveren, H. (2007). Critical thinking skills of teacher education students and factors influencing their critical thinking skills. (Eğitim fakültesi öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme becerileri ve bu becerileri etkileyen eleştirel düşünme faktörleri) [Doctoral Dissertation]. #211603, Dokuz Eylul University.

Güneş, F. (2012). Developing students’ thinking skills (Öğrencilerin düşünme becerilerini geliştirme). Türklük Bilimi Araştırmaları, 32, 127-146.

Halpern, D. F. (1999). Teaching for critical thinking: helping college students develop the kills and dispositions of a critical thinker. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 80, 69-74.

Karasar, N. (1984). Research Methods (Bilimsel araştırma metodu). Taş Books.

Kong, S. L. (2001). Critical thinking dispositions of pre-service teachers in Singapore: a preliminary investigation. Australian Association for Research in Education.

Lampert, N. (2006). Critical thinking dispositions as an outcome of art education. Studies in Art Education, 47(3), 215-228.

Lewis, A., & Smith, D. (1993). Defining higher order thinking. Theory Into Practice, 32(3), 131-137.

Martin-Raugh, M., Harrison, K., Ling, G., Fishtein, D., & Yang, Z. (2022). Noncognitive Skills and Critical Thinking Predict Undergraduate Academic Performance. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(3), 350-361. DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2022.2073964

Nieto, A. M., & Saiz, C. (2008). Evaluation of Halpern’s “Structural component” for improving critical thinking. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11(1), 266-274. DOI: 10.1017/S1138741600004303

Nilson, C., Fetherston, C. M., McMurray, A., & Fetherston, T. (2013). Creative arts: an essential element in the teacher’s toolkit when developing critical thinking in children. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(7), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n7.4

Özcan, Z. Ç. (2017). An investigation of critical thinking skills of middle school students in terms of math skills, age and grade levels. (Ortaokul öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme becerilerinin matematik başarısı, yaş ve sınıf seviyesi açısından incelenmesi). Medeniyet Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(1), 43-52. DOI: 10.9779/PUJE.2018.218

Özdemir, S. M. (2005). An evaluation of critical thinking skills of undergraduate students in relation to various variables (Üniversite öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme becerilerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından değerlendirilmesi). Türk Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 3(3), 297-316. DOI: 10.34137/jilses.790840

Özelçi, S. Y. (2012). Factors affecting critical thinking attitude: a study on elementary pre-service teachers. (Eleştirel düşünme tutumunu etkileyen faktörler: sınıf öğretmeni adayları üzerine bir çalışma) [Doctoral Dissertation]. #319827)

Özsoy, V. (2015). Visual arts education (Görsel sanatlar eğitimi). Pegem Akademi Publishing.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2016). Critical thinking (Kritik düşünce). Nobel Akademik Publishing.

Pithers, R. T., & Soden, R. (2000). Critical thinking in education: a review. Educational Research, 42(3), 237-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/001318800440579

Seferoğlu, S. S., & Akbıyık, C. (2006). Critical thinking and critical thinking training (Eleştirel düşünme ve öğretimi). Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 30, 193-200.

Snyder, L. G., & Snyder, M. J. (2008). Teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 50(2), 90-99.

Şen, Ü. S. (2014). Applications of research methods in art education (Sanat eğitiminde bilimsel araştırma yöntemlerinin kullanılması). Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 5(1), 343-360.

Topoğlu, O., & Öney, E. Ü. (2013). An investigation of critical thinking dispositions of fine arts education students in relation to various variables (Eğitim fakültesi güzel sanatlar eğitimi bölümü öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme eğilimlerinin çeşitli değişkenlerle ilişkisinin incelenmesi). Turkish Studies, 8(8), 1301-1312. http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.5368

Torrance, E. P. (1966). Torrance test of creative thinking. Scholastic Testing Service.

Ünver, E. (2016). Art education: why and how? (Neden ve nasıl sanat eğitimi). İdil Dergisi, 5(23), 865-878. DOI: 10.7816/idil-05-23-05

Vitulli, P., & Santoli, S. P. (2013). Visual arts and social studies: powerful partners in promoting critical thinking skills. Social Studies Reserach and Practice, 8(1), 117-134.

Yıldırım, C. (2000). Philosophy of science (Bilim felsefesi). Remzi Books.

Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap. Basic Books.

Zhang, L.-F. (2003). Contributions of thinking styles to critical thinking dispositions. The Journal of Psychology, 137(6), 517-544.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.12n.2p.191

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

2013-2024 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies  

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.