The Role of Critical Thinking in Predicting and Improving Academic Performance

Silvia F. Rivas (), Carlos Saiz and Leandro S. Almeida
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Silvia F. Rivas: Psychology Faculty, University of Salamanca, 37005 Salamanca, Spain
Carlos Saiz: Psychology Faculty, University of Salamanca, 37005 Salamanca, Spain
Leandro S. Almeida: Institute of Education, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: Today’s world demands new ways of dealing with problems and different ways of preparing for them. Some studies argue that these new demands also require new skills. Critical thinking (CT) involves a set of skills that are entirely relevant to today’s adaptive needs. In this study, we explore the extent to which CT serves to both account for and improve academic performance. To do this, we measured the CT skills of a number of undergraduate students, along with their university admission grades and average course grades. We successfully established the structural validity of the general construct of CT, along with a strong relationship between CT measurements at two different timepoints (at the beginning and end of studying a critical thinking subject area) and the admission grade and average grade variables. These data lead us to reflect on using CT level as a suitable assessment of academic performance. We also consider the limits of our findings and their implications.

Keywords: higher education; critical thinking; academic performance; assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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