Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions of Turkish Pre-service Teachers: A Systematic Review of Research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the research literature on Turkish pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills (CTS) and critical thinking dispositions (CTD) to identify the major knowledge claims and areas of further research. In this systematic review study, we examined both quantitative and qualitative studies conducted between 2010-2020 years in Turkey. The educational research regarding Turkish pre-service teachers’ CTS and CTD was investigated in electronic national and international databases including ERIC and TR Dizin. Considering our inclusion criteria, we included 88 studies in our review. Firstly, we completed descriptive analysis of the selected studies. Then, we analyzed their content. The descriptive analysis showed that quantitative research designs dominate the field. These studies report low-level of CTS of the participants. On the other hand, we presented our thematic analysis under two main themes: traditional perspectives and critical perspectives. We conclude that in the realm of traditional approaches, a few studies adopt a critical stand. Such a perspective, we argue, downgrades CT into a set of generic skills and neglects contextual and individual differences. It further diverges pre-service teachers from their roles as critical educators who actively participate in transformation of their society.