Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify the dispositions and opinions of prospective teachers towards critical thinking and to develop primarily their critical thinking dispositions. Pretest-posttest research design was implemented in this study without a control group. The study group was formed with the purposive sampling method. A total of 57 preservice teachers, of whom 26 were males and 31 were females, volunteered for the study. California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale was used for data collection and semi-structured interview form was used to obtain the qualitative data. The overall critical thinking dispositions pre-test scores of the students as well as the scores they have obtained in the sub-dimensions of analyticalness, open mindedness, inquisitiveness, and systematicness revealed that they had moderate dispositions in these sub-dimensions, whereas the scores they obtained in the sub-dimensions of self-confidence and truth-seeking revealed that they had low critical thinking dispositions in the respective sub-dimensions. The overall critical thinking dispositions post-test scores of the students obtained after the experimental procedure indicated a moderate disposition, as it was revealed by the overall pre-test scores, with the exceptions of the sub-dimensions of self-confidence and truth-seeking, in which the students' scores increased from low to moderate. All in all, a significant difference was found between the mean pretest and posttest scores. It was determined that when encountered an event or a problem that the participants took cognizance of subjects such as paying attention to the data available and unavailable, being attentive to seeking evidence, developing empathy, making reasonable conclusions, and making judgments through creating criteria when making decisions.These results have indicated that the education provided contributes positively to critical thinking and to the critical thinkingdisposition. Key words: Critical thinking, critical thinking disposition, preservice teacher, education, higher education.
Highlights
The scores of the pre-test conducted in the experimental group revealed that 20 students had low critical thinking dispositions, and 37 students had moderate critical thinking dispositions, whereas no student was found to have high critical thinking disposition.The overall critical thinking disposition of the experimental group comprising 57 students was found to be at a moderate level
Measurements conducted after the experimental process revealed significant results compared to the pre-test data.In terms of overall scores, 5 students were found to have attained high level of critical thinking after the experimental process compared to the pre-test scores, where there was no one who had high level of critical thinking disposition. the results have not changed in terms of overall critical thinking disposition level, they were sufficient to give rise to significant differences between the pre-test and posttest data, the mean scores of which were found to be
Significant differences were found between the mean pre-test and post-test scores of all sub-dimensions of critical thinking disposition scale.In addition, students who were found to have a low level of critical thinking dispositions in the self-confidence and truth seeking sub-dimensions on the basis of the pre-test data,were found to have reached a moderate level of critical thinking dispositionsas a result of the education provided, as it was detected on the basis of the post-test data
Summary
These and many other questions have become of interest to many people as a result of the globalization of the world.Everyone expects to find the right answer (Ennis, 2013). It is extremely important for people to choose the scientific way to reach reality. Access of individuals to scientific information should be considered as the most important issue by the states. This is because information has the characteristic of a potential product, which can be used in life. Scientific knowledge has become production itself (Jacob, 1997; Ziman, 1994)
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