Chinese Graduate Student Understandings and Struggles with Critical Thinking: A Narrative Case Study.
decades in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) especially in higher educational contexts, where CT is often advocated as an important skill for academic success. Although researchers have not agreed on how CT should be conceptualized, advocates have often conceived of it as a cognitive skill that can be taught (Davidson, 1997; Sobkowiak, 2016) For example, in defining CT, Sobkowiak (2016) primarily draws upon Facione (1990) who characterizes CT as involving six core cognitive skills (analysis, interpretation, inference, evaluation, explanation, and self regulation) as well as several dispositions (such as being fair minded and open to alternative positions) In addition, recent research has started to explore how different pedagogical practices can foster the development of CT across various disciplines in higher education (e.g. Chaplin 2007; Kaddoura, 2011; Holmes, Wieman, Bonn, 2015) Similarly, in research on second language pedagogy, especially in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) contexts, CT has been viewed as an important skill to teach students, and some have argued that it should be incorporated throughout the EAP curriculum (Thompson, 2002; Stroupe 2006) However, despite this promotion and advocation of CT, a recent area of debate is why international, and especially Asian students, seem to struggle with CT (Floyd, 2011; Tian Low, 2011; Luk Lin, 2015; and Vandermensbrugghe, 2004) Qualitative research methodologies offer the promise to make headway in this issue, as they allow for the obtainment of rich data about learner experiences. While past research has been conducted on CT through qualitative lenses (e.g. Moore, 2013; Nicholas, 2011; Lloyd, Bahr, 2010; Phillips Bond, 2004; Facione, 1990) this research has primarily focused on definitional disputes surrounding CT. Qualitative research has not, however, been used to approach the issue from the perspective of international graduate students, which could offer useful insights into this debate. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to address this gap by using a narrative case study framework to extract detailed accounts of graduate international students' experiences with CT. DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING There has been a wide array of definitions offered for critical thinking in the literature. Moore (2013) for example, interviewed academics from history, philosophy, and cultural studies, asking them to define CT. He found seven definitional strands emerged from the interviews, including (1) judgement, (2) skepticism, (3) simple originality, (4) sensitive readings, (5) rationality, (6) activist engagement with knowledge, and (7) reflexivity. Likewise, Ryan and Louie (2007) have noted that there is a lack of common understanding about the term in academic circles. While definitions have varied, several authors have attempted to define critical thinking as a set of cognitive skills and dispositions. For instance, Facione (1990) conducted a study in which critical thinking experts were tasked with reaching a consensus definition. The experts agreed on several skills (e.g. interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation) and dispositions (e.g. being open minded, inquisitive, fair minded) that are possessed by critical thinkers. In a similar vein, Ennis (1998) lists abilities and dispositions of critical thinkers, several of which overlap with the definition offered above (e.g. abilities include analyzing arguments and making deductions, and dispositions include seriously considering alternative points of view and representing positions fairly and honestly) Finally, Paul and Elder (2001) define CT as involving universal intellectual standards and elements of thought (which can be related to skills and abilities) as well as intellectual traits and virtues (which are analogous to the dispositions noted above) The skills and dispositions of the above definitions do not completely overlap; however, a common theme begins to emerge: Critical thinking involves the introspection of reasoning to improve thinking. As Weissberg (2013) succinctly puts it, what most definitions have in common is that they involve the use of reason to create depth in thinking. Thus, even though authors such as Moore (2013) found a wide array of definitions, one could argue that there is a common core. Nevertheless, while some definitions see CT as a generic skill (i.e. skills that can be applied across contexts and academic disciplines) others see it as an embedded skill, in which there is or needs to be specific content (Phillips Bond, 2004) Willingham (2008) for example, argues that thinking processes are intricately tied up with the content of thought, and Weissberg (2013) expresses a similar Chinese Graduate Student Understandings and Struggles with Critical Thinking: A Narrative Case Study