Instructors’ Attitudes towards the Reflection of Critical Thinking in Course Syllabi: Evidence from an Expanding Circle

Abstract

This study investigated Iranian EFL university instructors’ familiarity with critical thinking, and its use in their course syllabi. To this end, 103 instructors completed an attitude questionnaire. The results revealed that the differences between EFL instructors were significant across their level of education in terms of their preparation of course syllabi, and their familiarity with CT and official syllabi. Besides, TEFL instructors were significantly superior to their linguistics and literature colleagues in terms of their familiarity with CT and its perceived importance. The results revealed that the relationships between the participants’ teaching experience on the one hand and their preparation of syllabi, their familiarity with CT and official syllabi and the consideration of CT in their course syllabi on the other hand were statistically significant. The study suggests that teacher training programs and in-service training courses should aim at educating instructors continually and systematically and help them keep abreast of the recent pedagogical innovations to enhance learning outcomes.