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Critical Thinking Dispositions of Part-Time Faculty Members Teaching at the College Level

Palmer, Scott MacKeen

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Higher Education (Education).

The purpose of this study was to examine the critical thinking dispositions of part-time faculty members teaching at the college level and to explore the relationship of those dispositions to other factors. This exploratory study examined the relationships between characteristics of part-time college faculty members and their overall demonstration of the disposition toward critical thinking as measured by the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI). Variables included highest earned degree, academic discipline for the highest earned degree, years of teaching experience at the college level, experience with critical thinking, critical thinking as a learning objective, and pedagogy of classroom discussion. The population for this study was part-time faculty members teaching in a variety of academic disciplines at a four-year private liberal arts university in the Midwestern United States. One hundred and twenty part-time faculty members volunteered to participate in this study. Respondents were asked to complete an online researcher developed faculty questionnaire and the online version of the CCTDI.

One-way ANOVAs were run for overall CCTDI score and sub-scores when considering the highest level of formal education, academic discipline, and teaching experience at the college level. No significant differences in overall CCTDI scores were found when considering these variables. A univariate ANOVA was run for the overall CCTDI and sub-scores and the critical thinking experience variable. Significant differences were found for the overall CCTDI score when considering experience in critical thinking, specifically exposure to formal training in critical thinking. Correlations were run for the overall CCTDI score and sub-scores for use of critical thinking as a learning objective and the degree to which faculty use discussion in the classroom. There were significant positive correlations between the overall CCTDI score and both variables.

Findings suggest that those who had exposure to formal training demonstrated a stronger disposition toward critical thinking in this study. Also, significant positive correlations were observed between those faculty members with positive critical thinking dispositions, articulating critical thinking as a learning objective and the use of discussion as in the classroom.

Peter Mather (Advisor)
166 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Palmer, S. M. (2007). Critical Thinking Dispositions of Part-Time Faculty Members Teaching at the College Level [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1194563509

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Palmer, Scott. Critical Thinking Dispositions of Part-Time Faculty Members Teaching at the College Level. 2007. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1194563509.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Palmer, Scott. "Critical Thinking Dispositions of Part-Time Faculty Members Teaching at the College Level." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1194563509

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)