Thinking culture and critical thinking dispositions of high school students in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the critical thinking disposition levels of the 15–18 age group of secondary and high school students in different educational settings in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Since culture is an inevitable part of thinking, this study becomes significant since there is no study investigating the thinking culture of youngsters in North Cyprus. After eliciting necessary permissions from the Ministry of Education and ethical boards, 1,130 participants in the age range of 15–18, who were selected by stratified random sampling and who voluntarily accepted to contribute to the study, took part as a targeted audience. Data was collected from six independent areas of North Cyprus. A Turkish version of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) was used as the main data collection tool and the data was collected via the online MS Teams platform. The study found that, first, most of the participants scored significantly below the desired criteria set by the related literature for the specified age group. Second, gender differences were studied, and girls were found to be more inclined to think critically than boys in terms of six facets of critical thinking except for truth-seeking. Third, an interesting result regarding urban-rural area distinction was elicited in favor of rural areas, which was contradicted by the related literature, and this finding is discussed under the cultural realms of Cyprus. The basic premises behind each finding and their causal associations with culture are elaborated in detail in the discussion section.