Abstract

DIAZ LARENAS, Claudio; ARANCIBIA PONCE, Maite  and  CASTRO FREIRE, Angela. Measurement and analysis of critical thinking disposition towards English language learning among secondary school students. Innovaciones Educativas [online]. 2024, vol.26, n.40, pp.7-25. ISSN 2215-4132.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22458/ie.v26i40.4797.

The present study analyzes the critical thinking disposition of 205 students from public high schools regarding English language learning. A 6-point-Likert scale was applied to the participants to collect data using the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, which consisted of 26 questions; moreover, participants’ sociodemographic characteristics were gathered. The Critical Thinking Disposition Scale comprised seven dimensions: Truth- seeking, Open-mindedness, Analyticity, Systematicity, Self-confidence Critical Thinking, Inquisitiveness, and Cognitive Maturity. The first method of data analysis was descriptive statistics, this analysis addressed the data’s mean score and standard deviation, followed by a Spearman correlation analysis to find relationships among the dataset, which showed correlations among the seven dimensions but not between the dimensions and the sociodemographic information. Finally, a hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to divide the data and respondents into four similar groups, according to their answers. The findings show that high school students present neither a strong nor weak disposition to critical thinking; their disposition is rather undefined.

Keywords : Critical thinking; English; Language learning; Public high schools; Public education.

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