Evaluating university students’ critical thinking ability as reflected in their critical reading skill: A study at bachelor level in Pakistan

Abstract

Critical reading means reacting critically to what is being read. It is an act of establishing a relation among the reading content material and personal values, attitudes and standards. This study has aimed to evaluate university students’ critical thinking ability as reflected in their critical reading skill. To explore this aim, the present study has set two research objectives which include to understand university students’ attitude towards critical thinking and to know the relationship between the university students’ attitude towards critical thinking and their language proficiency with reference to their critical reading skill and their performance in critical reading test (CRT) taken by them. To achieve these objectives, the researcher has used quantitative research methodology. The participants of this study consist of 550 male and female university students of different state-run colleges of Punjab (Pakistan). Critical thinking inventory (CTI), Watson-Glaser’s Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) (2002) and critical reading test (CRT) have been used to collect data from the subjects of the study. The researcher used SPSS (XX) to analyze the collected data. The findings of this study reveal that the university students have highly positive attitude towards critical thinking but their level of critical thinking and their ability to reflect critical thinking in their critical reading skill do not correspond with their attitude towards critical thinking.