THE LEVELS OF CRITICAL THINKING TENDENCIES IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Students who receive architectural education are expected to be individuals who can think critically. For this reason, it becomes a necessity to cultivate creative individuals who are curious, inquiring and multi-faceted thinkers. The aim of this research was to determine the levels of tendency for critical thinking of first-year and fourth-year architecture students. The research sample consisted of 88 (54 females, 34 males) first-year and 83 (47 females, 36 males) fourth-year students who are studying at Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture. The "California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI)" was used as data collection tool in the research. In addition, information about the demographic characteristics of students were collected through the Personal Information Form. Findings of the research showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the GPAs and critical thinking tendency levels of the first-year and fourth-year students. It can be argued that all students need some guidance to attach importance on critical thinking starting from the first year of the program. Keywords: academic achievement, architectural students, critical thinking, critical thinking tendency.