Dispositions toward Critical Thinking in Portuguese Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Background/purpose – The study aimed to identify differences in the level of critical thinking dispositions of undergraduate students in Portugal according to their sociodemographic (gender, age) and academic (study field) characteristics. Materials/methods – A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study was conducted with a convenience random sample of 1,017 students. Most of the participants were female (76.8%) and the average age of the respondents was 21.8 ± 4.22 years old. For data collection, the Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale (CTDS) was employed, which consists of 35 question items and was validated for the Portuguese population. In the statistical analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and hierarchical multiple regression model were used. Results – The students showed an average positive disposition for critical thinking (average CTDS score was 279.1 ± 27.1). The results demonstrated that gender, age, and field of study influenced the students’ dispositions for critical thinking. Older female students attending biomedicine courses had a higher disposition to think critically. Conclusion – Female students generally show higher critical thinking scores dispositions, regardless of the study field.