Whose Outcome is it Anyway? A Collective Case Study of Critical Thinking in the Curricula of Institutions of Higher Learning in Indiana

This study documented the phenomenology of critical thinking as an outcome in institutions of higher education in Indiana. Applying a collective case study design, the study interviewed educators in three institutions of higher learning and reviewed the public documentation to contextualize critical thinking as an educational outcome in each case. Analyzing the within-case and between-case coding of participant responses, the study documented themes emerging from these comparisons: (1) critical thinking is an essential set of skills for education to inculcate; (2) critical thinking includes creative dimensions, intellectual virtues, and critical dispositions including self-reflection and the development of a critical ethic; (3) often viewed as a general, cognitive skill, critical thinking is typically addressed in discipline-specific contexts requiring an array of skills and dispositions; (4) faculty disagree concerning the connection between critical thinking and ethical and moral reasoning; (5) critical thinking can be promoted via a shift of students' perspectives, even if that shift is temporary; (6) students must exert sustained effort, curiosity, and be able to assess their own learning to be good critical thinkers; (7) faculty should collaborate across disciplines to articulate how students learn transferable critical thinking skills and dispositions; (8) direct assessment of critical thinking is perceived as difficult due to differences in disciplinary interpretation; (9) democracy requires informed citizens who can read and think critically; and (10) some expressed concern regarding institutions' commitments to critical thinking, liberal education, and the democratic ideal in favor of an alignment to market ideology and the interests of business and industry. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]