Critical Thinking Disposition in the Pharmacy Faculty Members of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Abstract

Background: The development of critical thinking skills and disposition in universities is an important goal of education. Evaluation of critical thinking disposition and its influential factors as a competency of faculty members has attracted the attention of educational experts. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the critical thinking disposition of the pharmacy faculty members of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2018. Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of two sections. The first section included demographic variables, and the second section was Ricketts critical thinking disposition inventory. The questionnaire was provided to 41 faculty members, and 36 questionnaires were completed and returned. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 18 using t-test and Pearson's correlation-coefficient. Results: The mean score of the critical thinking disposition of the participants was 134.41 out of 165. No significant difference was observed in the mean score of critical thinking disposition in terms of gender and academic rank. Moreover, no significant correlations were denoted between the critical thinking disposition, age, and work experience of the faculty members. Conclusion: Due to the educational role of faculty members and the necessity of developing critical thinking skills in universities, continuous training must be implemented for faculty members for familiarization with various aspects of critical thinking and the required teaching strategies, followed by the promotion of these skills in students.