Problematizing the critical thinking concept: perspectives of Chinese undergraduate students and their U.S. university faculty
Date
2017
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This qualitative study examined reflections of 12 Chinese students who studied
in a U.S. college, and 10 of their U.S. faculty in terms of their conceptualization of
critical thinking. Throughout the study, a situated cognitive framework was applied to
analyze the interview data and explore the concept of critical thinking. ☐ The participants of this study were asked to explicitly define critical thinking,
and to assess the importance of critical thinking to students’ learning and students’
lives. The study also explored whether and how critical thinking was related to some
of the challenges that the Chinese students faced as students studying abroad in the
U.S. ☐ The results showed that the definitions of critical thinking provided by the U.S.
faculty and Chinese students were embedded in different contexts. The professors
were more likely to define critical thinking as universal thinking skills embedded in
certain disciplines. The Chinese students were more likely to contextualize critical
thinking in their study abroad experiences, as well as in the purpose of activities, and
in their future jobs. The U.S. faculty and Chinese students also assessed the
importance of critical thinking in this study. Generally speaking, U.S. faculty attached
more importance to critical thinking than the Chinese students. Some of the Chinese
students regarded universal critical thinking skill as not transferable to their work and
their life, and hence, not that important. Finally, U.S. faculty and Chinese students
reflected that attributing some of the challenges that Chinese students faced while
studying abroad to critical thinking might be problematic. Chinese students’
descriptions of the challenges that they faced in Western university were not
necessarily related to critical thinking. Those descriptions tend to focus on whether it
was safe to express themselves in class, whether their voices and experiences were
valued in the class community, whether they understood the interactional patterns
present in a U.S. university and their English language proficiency. ☐ Examining the concept of critical thinking through Chinese students’
perspectives and experiences is significant to the field of international education for
several reasons. To start, it problematizes critical thinking concept as a standard that is
used to measures students’ skills and abilities. The study also demonstrates
conceptualizations of critical thinking in ways that consider Chinese students’ social,
cultural, and educational backgrounds instead of in ways that focus on deficits of
Chinese students while they study abroad in Western countries. Further, this study is
informative because the challenges that Chinese students faced in this study might be
faced by other Chinese students who are studying abroad. The U.S. faculty and
Chinese students’ reflections on what helped Chinese student conquer their difficulties
might be helpful for teachers and researchers of Chinese students. Finally, by
interviewing Chinese students, this study incorporated Chinese students’ voices in
studies that consider the role of critical thinking.