Abstract

CANESE DE ESTIGARRIBIA, Marta Isabel. Perception of development of critical thinking skills at Asuncion National University, Paraguay. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2020, vol.42, n.169, pp.21-35.  Epub Feb 15, 2021. ISSN 0185-2698.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iisue.24486167e.2020.169.59295.

The aim of this investigation was to measure the level of development of critical thinking skills perceived by students at Asuncion National University, Paraguay. The methodology applied was observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional. A Likert test with 36 indicators was applied to a sample of 310 students enrolled in the last year of six degree programs in the School of Philosophy: Philosophy, History, Literature, Education, Communication, and Psychology. The results indicate that the students perceive an intermediate level of development of critical thinking, with an average general percentage score of 68.85. The levels vary between 60 and 78 percent, and are lower for more complex skills. In conclusion, students perceive that they have started to construct critical thinking skills, although they identify difficulties, barriers, and contradictory tendencies which support the continuity of traditional acritical thinking, and the emergence of technicist thinking.

Keywords : Critical thinking; Higher education; Cognitive skill; Mental process; Interpretation; Autonomy.

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