The Investigation of critical thinking disposition among Chinese primary and middle school students

Purpose: Critical thinking has become the essential competency for students in the 21st century. the purpose of this study is to understand the present situation critical thinking disposition among Chinese primary and middle school students. Method: the study surveys of 18,737 students from the fourth grade of primary school to the twelfth grade of senior high school in 13 provinces in China using a self-designed questionnaire, and interviews 25 primary and middle school students in depth. Result: The results show that: (a) The average critical thinking disposition score of Chinese primary and middle school students is 7.33 point, indicating room for improvement. (b) The development of the subordinate dimensions of critical thinking disposition of Chinese primary and middle school students is unbalanced, students perform better in open-mindedness and curiosity, but struggle with truth-seeking spirit and independent thinking. (c) In terms of the change of academic stage, the critical thinking disposition of students is generally improving, but the relationship between critical thinking and grade level is not linear, and there is a reverse phenomenon in the dimensions of curiosity and independent thinking. (d) middle school students do not meet the standards and requirements of critical thinking spirit set by the curriculum standards, and they are generally dissatisfied with their critical thinking disposition; (e) Students from cities perform better than those from rural areas in self-examination, open-mindedness, inquisitiveness and evidence-based reasoning.