Reflective and critical thinking as determinants of academic achievement: A study in physical education and sport teacher candidates

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between reflective thinking and academic achievement in physical education and sports teaching students. The research aimed to investigate to what extent the reflective and critical thinking tendencies of prospective physical education and sports teachers explain academic achievement. Based on John Dewey's vital and reflective thinking approaches, considered among thinking skills, an answer to this question was sought. A traditional and positivist paradigm was adopted as the research model, and a quantitative research approach was used. The study was designed with the relational method, and the relationship between critical and reflective thinking dispositions of physical education and sports teacher candidates and their academic achievement was analysed. The study group consisted of 200 participants studying in the first, second, third and fourth grades of the physical education and sports teaching program. The mean age of the participants was 22.20±2.98; 44.5% exercised regularly, and 49% were licensed athletes. Data collection tools included personal information forms, academic achievement grouping, the Critical Thinking Scale, and the Reflective Thinking Scale. The Critical Thinking Scale was adapted to Turkish using a two-dimensional model. The Reflective Thinking Scale has four sub-dimensions. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that some items were not suitable due to high error variances and cross-loading. After removing these items based on expert opinions, the remaining items in the reflection and critical reflection dimensions showed very good factor loadings. The reliability coefficients for the scale were satisfactory. Final year students scored higher in critical reflection and reflective thinking than third-grade students. No significant difference was found in critical openness, reflective skepticism, and critical thinking. Male physical education and sports teacher candidates scored higher in reflection, critical reflection, and reflective thinking tendency than their female counterparts. Consequently, the findings show that reflective thinking can potentially increase academic achievement in prospective physical education and sports teachers. These findings emphasize that developing thinking skills should be a priority in education programs.