15 cimo example[1]

8/3/2019 15 CIMO Example[1]

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BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS'DISPOSITION TOWARD CRITICAL

THINKING

Barbara A. Wilson


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The research questions were the following:

1. What is their disposition toward critical thinking?

2. Is there a difference in a disposition toward critical thinking among ethnic groups (African

American, Latino, and White)?

3. Is there a difference in a disposition toward critical thinking between men and women?

4. Is there a relationship between a disposition toward critical thinking and SAT scores and GPA?

5. Is there a relationship between the disposition toward critical thinking and intellectualdevelopment?

Better informed people are more likely to participate in societal activity and a critically active

workforce is needed to compete in a global economy, there has been a call to make critical

thinking a national priority for education.

Useful to test the relationship of intellectual development and a disposition toward critical

thinking.

Purpose


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Context

The population comprised 693 African American, Latino, and White freshmen students in the

College of Business Administration and Economics (COBAE) of a large state university in

California

Student participation in this study was as follows: 13 African American females, 7 African

American males, 11 Latino females, 13 Latino males, 15 White females, and 10 White males.Thus, group size for ethnicity was 20, 24, and 25 respectively.


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California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI)

1. Truth-Seeking - Flexibility in considering alternatives and opinions

2. Open-Mindedness -Understanding the opinions of others

3. Analyticity - Persistence though difficulties are encountered

4. Systematicity - Diligence in seeking relevant information

5. Confidence - Confidence in ones own ability to reason

6. Inquisitiveness - Concern to become and remain generally well-informed

7. Maturity - Approaching problems, inquiry, and decision making with a sense that some

problems are necessarily ill structured, some situations admit of more than one plausible

option, and many times judgments must be made based on standards, contexts, and

evidence that preclude certainty.


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Critical thinking means making a reasoned opinion on any matter involving a judgment of its

value, truth, or righteousness. "

The ideal critical thinker is

1. habitually inquisitive,

2. well-in formed, trustful of reason,

3. open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation,

4. honest in facing personal biases,

5. prudent in making judgments,

6. willing to reconsider,

7. clear about issues,

8. orderly in complex matters,

9. diligent in seeking relevant information,

10. reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and

11. persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of

inquiry permit.

Three domains

Generalised skills, (a) focusing on a question, (b) analysing arguments c) making judgments,

and (d) identifying assumptions

Cognitive processes -there are three kinds of knowledge-declarative, procedural, and

metacognitive.

Intellectual (epistemological) development -beliefs about the nature of knowledge and truth.


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Perrys Intellectual and Ethical Development Model

1-Dualism/Received Knowledge: There are right/wrong answers, engraved on Golden Tablets in

the sky, known to Authorities.

Basic Duality>>>Full Dualism:

2-Multiplicity/Subjective Knowledge: There are conflicting answers;

therefore, students must trust their "inner voices", not external Authority.

Early Multiplicity>>>Late Multiplicity:

3-Relativism/Procedural Knowledge: There are disciplinary reasoning methods:

Connected knowledge: empathetic (why do you believe X?; what does this poem say to me?) vs.

Separated knowledge: "objective analysis" (what techniques can I use to analyze this poem?)

Contextual Relativism>>>Pre-Commitment":

4-Commitment/Constructed Knowledge: Integration of knowledge learned from others with

personal experience and reflection.Commitment>>Challenges to Commitment>>"Post-Commitment":

Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) Instrument

Full Dualism: Early Multiplicity: Late Multiplicity: Contextual Relativism


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Reflective Judgment Model

Assumptions about the process of knowing (view of knowledge) and how it is acquired

(justification of beliefs)-espitemolgy. The seven developmental stages are

Pre-reflective Reasoning (Stages 1-3): Belief that "knowledge is gained through the word of an

authority figure or through first-hand observation, rather than, for example, through the

evaluation of evidence. [People who hold these assumptions] believe that what they know is

absolutely correct, and that they know with complete certainty. People who hold these

assumptions treat all problems as though they were well-structured"

Quasi-Reflective Reasoning (Stages 4 and 5): Recognition "that knowledge-or more accurately,

knowledge claims-contain elements of uncertainty, which [people who hold these assumptions]

attribute to missing information or to methods of obtaining the evidence. Although they use

evidence, they do not understand how evidence entails a conclusion

Reflective Reasoning (Stages 6 and 7): People who hold these assumptions accept "thatknowledge claims cannot be made with certainty, but [they] are not immobilized by it; rather,

[they] make judgments that are "most reasonable" and about which they are "relatively

certain," based on their evaluation of available data. They believe they must actively construct

their decisions, and that knowledge claims must be evaluated in relationship to the context in

which they were generated to determine their validity. They also readily admit their willingness

to re-evaluate the adequacy of their judgments as new data or new methodologies become

available"


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CIMO ?

Disposition

to Critical

Thinking

Generalised Skills

Cognitive Process

Critical ThinkingIntellectual/

epistemological

Development

ReflectiveJudgement

Research Question

Is there a relationship between the

disposition toward critical thinking and

intellectual development?

Maturity

CCTDI LEP

Gender and ethnic

differences


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BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS'DISPOSITION TOWARD CRITICAL THINKINGBarbara A. WilsonSince better informed people are more likely to participate in political activity and a critically active workforce is needed to compete in a global economy, there has been a call tomake criticalthinking Altbach, 1981;American Association ofColleges forTeacher Education, 1989; Brookfield, 1987) a national priorityfor education. President Bush and governors from all 50 statesarticulated six national education goals. In Goals 2000, Goal 6.5seeks to increase the proportion of college graduates who demonstrate an advanced ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems (U.S. Department of Education, 1990).Colleges and universities have attempted to answer the call byincluding critical thinking in their mission statements and program goals. There is now a need tomeasure the construct.

Rationale for theStudyCritical thinking means making a reasoned opinion on any matterinvolving a judgment of its value, truth, or righteousness. "Motivation theory (Lewin, 1935) provides the theoretical grounds forthe assumption that the disposition to value and utilize criticalthinking would impel an individual to achieve mastery over critical thinking skills, being motivated to close the gap between whatis valued and what is attained" (Facione, Facione, Sanchez, &Gainen, 1995, p. 4). Accordingly, nurturing that disposition precedes the development of critical-thinking skills. For this reason,institutions of higher education should investigate the dispositiontoward critical thinking of entering freshmen so that those cognitive skills might be cultivated. Peter and Noreen Facione andCarol Sanchez (1994) have developed the California CriticalThinkingDisposition Inventory CCTDI) forthat urpose.JGE: THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL EDUCATION, Vol. 47, No. 4, 1998.Copyright ? 1998 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.


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Business Administration 305The CCTDI would have additional prescriptive value for the

development of critical thinking if itwere related to intellectualdevelopment theory on principles and methods of teaching, instructional activities, curriculum design, and program assessmentfor college students (Adams & Marchesani, 1992; Goldberger,1981; Mentkowski, Moeser, & Strait, 1983; Nelson, 1994;Reisetter Hart, Rickerts, & Mentkowski, 1995). Thus, itwouldbe of interest to test the relationship of intellectual developmentand a disposition toward critical thinking.

Purpose of theStudyThe purpose of this study was tomeasure the disposition towardcritical thinking of freshmen students enrolled in the College ofBusiness Administration and Economics (COBAE), test theCCTDI for group differences, test the relationship between theCCTDI and achievement variables, and investigate the relationship between a disposition toward critical thinking and intellectual development.The research questions were the following:

1.What is theirdisposition toward critical thinking?2. Is there a difference in a disposition toward critical thinking among ethnic groups (African American, Latino, andWhite)?3. Is there a difference in a disposition toward critical thinking between men and women?4. Is there a relationship between a disposition toward critical thinking and SAT scores and GPA?5. Is there a relationship between the disposition toward critical thinking and intellectual development?

In the following section, the construct of critical thinking, themain topic for this research study, will be defined. Next will be adefinition of a disposition toward critical thinking,as well as an

explanation of the theory of intellectual development that provides the theoretical base for this research study. A review of the


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306 Wilsonliterature will present secondary sources appropriate to the construct of critical thinking, epistemological theories, and measurements. The section on scope and limitations will describe thegeneral education component of the participating students and howit relates to critical thinking and will focus on the limitations ofthe instrument and the need for additional research. Sections onmethodology, findings and discussion, and summary will presentthe research design and results of this study. Finally, the sectionon the implications of the study will explain the analysis and contributions of this study to education and assessment.

Definition ofCritical ThinkingEducation psychologists and philosophers have offered numerous definitions of critical thinking. For this study, the followingdefinition from Peter Facione's Delphi research will be used:

The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustfulof reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-mindedin evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent inmaking judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues,orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused ininquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit.(Facione, 1990,p. 3)

The underlying assumption is that developing students' criticalthinking skills encompasses the nurturing of a disposition towardcritical thinking.

Disposition Toward Critical ThinkingEach of the seven individual dispositional scales in the CaliforniaCritical Thinking Disposition Inventory is defined (Facione et al.,1995).

Inquisitiveness is defined as one's intellectual curiosity andone's desire for learning even when the application of the knowl


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Business Administration 307

edge is not readily apparent. The inquisitive person is eager tolearn more. A person lacking inquisitiveness may not reach his orher learning potential.Open-Mindedness is defined as being tolerant of divergent viewsand sensitive to thepossibility of one's own bias. An open-minded

person invites pluralistic viewpoints and values the freedom tochoose (lifestyles, religion, etc.). A person lacking openmindedness may be intolerant of divergent viewpoints by categorizing them as right and wrong (sociocentric).Systematicity is defined as being organized, orderly, focused,and diligent in inquiry. A systematic person pursues inquiry according to accepted methodologies in a field. A person lackingsystematicity may be distracted easily ormay use evaluation frameworks inappropriate to the field.

Analyticity is defined as prizing the application of reasoningand the use of evidence to resolve problems, anticipating potential conceptual or practical difficulties, and consistently being alertto the need to intervene. An analytical person resolves problemsby examining the component parts and their relation to thewhole,considering the potential effects of one choice over another, andrecognizing the need to reevaluate the process. A person lackinganalyticity may have difficulty evaluating multiple solutions to aproblem or preparing a good argument.

Truth-Seeking is defined as being eager to seek the best knowledge in a given context, courageous about asking questions, andhonest and objective about pursuing inquiry even if thefindingsdo not support one's self-interests or one }spreconceived opinions.A truth-seeking person welcomes new evidence and continuallyengages in a dialectical process to evaluate new information. Aperson lacking in truth-seeking is not open to new facts or perspectives and is not likely to change his or her mind (egocentric).

Critical-Thinking S e If-Confidence is defined as allowing one totrust the soundness of one's own reasoned judgments and to leadothers in the rational resolution of problems. A person with criticalthinking self-confidence exhibits leadership qualities appropriate tocritical thinking skills. A person lacking critical-thinking self-confidence may underrate (or overrate) his or her critical-thinking skills.

Maturity is defined as approaching problems, inquiry, and decision making with a sense that some problems are necessarily ill


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308 Wilsonstructured, some situations admit of more than one plausible option, and many times judgments must be made based on standards,contexts, and evidence thatpreclude certainty. A person with maturity is comfortable working with issues having multiple solutionsthat require judgments based on values, beliefs, philosophies, policies, or ethics. A person lacking maturity may prefer a dualisticcontext inwhich one solution appears to be more right than others.A disposition toward critical thinking represents an aptitude andinclination that precedes

thedevelopment of critical thinking. Forthis reason, it seemed appropriate to test the relationship betweena disposition toward critical thinking and intellectual development.

The Theory of Intellectual DevelopmentWilliams Perry's Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development(1968, 1970, 1981) is divided intofourdifferentepistemologicalframeworks regarding knowledge?Dualism, Multiplicity, Relativism, and Commitment. Nine positions represent the four epistemological frameworks. The positions are static and development is defined as upward movement.Dualism: Position 1 is the belief that there is one right authority; for Position 2, true authorities are right and others are frauds.In Dualism, there are two realms?Good and Bad?and knowledge is quantitative. Learners view themselves as receptaclesabsorbing Truth. Consequently, learners have difficulty whenconfronted with conflicting viewpoints or when asked for theirown personal opinions.

Early Multiplicity: Position 3 is that we are still waiting forthe real Truth to explain uncertainties; Position 4 is that everyonehas a right to his or her own opinion and authorities do not knowthe right answer. InMultiplicity, learners acknowledge differentviewpoints. Judgment of these viewpoints, however, ismade onthe basis of quantity. Therefore, learners have difficulty justifying their opinions.Relativism: Position 5 makes a shift from Dualism toRelativism. Learners perceive knowledge and values as contextual andrelativistic in addition to perceiving themselves as active makersofmeaning. Dualistic functions are subordinate in a special case.


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Business Administration 309With Position 6 comes the realization that learners must make theirown decisions in this uncertain world. Learners begin to apprehend the necessity of orienting themselves in a relativistic worldby making personal commitments. In Relativism, all knowledgeis disengaged from the concept of Dualism?absolute Truth and"good" versus "bad." Learners view themselves as alone in a chaotic world and feel the loss of simpler, dualistic guidelines. Nowlearners must create their own "truth" based on their own experiences.

Commitment: Position 7 is that of making one commitment.Position 8moves tomaking several commitments. Finally, Position 9 moves further to commitments to values, careers, relationships, and personal identity. In Commitment, judgment is evident from patterns of responsibility and engagement. Diversity iswelcomed and respected. Knowledge is qualitative and dependent on contexts.

The essence of Perry's Scheme seems comparable with severalof the individual scales in Facione's CCTDI. At this time, noother research has tested the relationship between a dispositiontoward critical thinking and intellectual development. Other related sources, however, are appropriate to present in the literaturereview.

Literature ReviewThe construct of critical thinking, epistemological theories andcritical thinking, and research conducted with the instrumentsbeing used in this study will be reviewed.

The Construct of Critical ThinkingBasically, three perspectives are represented in the literature oncritical thinking and its development in college students, namely,generalized skills, cognitive processes, and intellectual development (Kurfiss, 1988).The first perspective, generalized skills, may be an informallogic course offered through the philosophy department that in


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310 Wilsoneludes the following goals: (a) focusing on a question, (b) analyzingarguments, c)making judgments,and (d) identifyingssumptions (Ennis, 1987). Informal logic focuses on form ratherthan content. Subject matter is not infused or embedded into thecurriculum. Critics of the generalized-skills perspective argue thatknowledge or context subject matter is necessary for inquiry(McPeck, 1981).The second perspective, cognitive processes, studies the organization of knowledge inmemory and its role in critical thinking.There are three kinds of knowledge?declarative, procedural, andmet acognitive. Declarative knowledge is about facts and things.Procedural knowledge is about how to perform activities such ascritical thinking, problem solving, and decision making (Anderson, 1976). For critical thinking, procedural knowledge represents a frame of reference for presenting a good argument in thefield (Kurfiss, 1988) or thegeneral principles that ne can applyinorderto solveproblems (King, 1994). The third indof knowledge, metacognitive, supports procedural knowledge and is aboutplanning and monitoring. The cognitive apprenticeship model isan example of the cognitive-perspective, which includes modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulating, reflecting, and exploring(Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1986). Learning is sequenced withinthe connections of activity, tool, and culture. A criticism of thecognitive-processes perspective suggests that critical thinking involves more than just acquiring skills and knowledge. The theoryof situated learning suggests that activity and perception are epistemologically prior to conceptualization and that it is on them thatmore attention needs to be focused (Brown, Collins, & Duguid,1989).The third perspective, epistemological development, followschanges in students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge andtruth. Epistemological assumptions about knowledge, truth, authority, and inquiry influence our ability to think critically. Threeexamples ofmodels of epistemological development areWilliamPerry's (1970) Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development,Kitchener and King's (1981) Reflective Judgment Model, andBelenky and associates' Women's Ways of Knowing (Belenky,Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986). The epistemological de


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Business Administration 311velopment models are based on adaptation, which accounts forchange and growth. Learners either assimilate new beliefs aboutknowledge or truth into existing mental structures or accommodate new beliefs by modifying mental structures. Change isbrought about through disequilibrium. Furthermore, epistemologica! development is differentiated (Kurfiss, 1977). Development is uneven in various content areas. Those subjects a studentis engaged in through education seem to advance first. Thus, it isimportant that topics are embedded in our curriculum by design.Epistemological Theories and Critical ThinkingTwo models, The Reflective Judgment Model and the Scheme ofIntellectual and Ethical Development, have secondary sources onthe construct of critical thinking.TheReflective Judgment odelKing and Kitchener make the distinction that ritical thinking smore concerned with the solving of closed, well-structured problems (Hofer& Pintrich, 1997). Two studies support this statement. Brabeck (1983) found that structural development (reflective judgment) and skills acquisition (critical thinking)are notthe same construct. Brabeck defined critical-thinking skills asgeneralized skills that transfer across domains and are not contentspecific. (Generalized skills are defined in the literature reviewsection.) This study has one very important implication: Learningthesupposedlygeneralized skillsof critical thinking oes notnecessarily alter one's beliefs about truths and their knowledgestructures. Consequently, providing students with instructionalopportunities for learning generalized critical-thinking skills willnot necessarily produce reflective thinkers.King,Wood, andMines (1990) also testedtherelationshipbetweenreflectivejudgment nd criticalthinking generalized skills)and found that the relationship between reflective judgment andcritical thinking is only moderate. More important, they definedthe following critical-thinkingskills thatdistinguish differentstages of reflective judgment:


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312 Wilson1. Interpretation, weighing evidence and identifying generalizations that are warranted beyond a reasonable doubt;2. detecting fallaciously ambiguous arguments (e.g., evalu

ating arguments to determine whether the laws of a validargument were violated);3. deduction, reasoning deductively from premises to conclusions; and4. inference, analyzing the degree of accuracy of inferencesdrawn from a given statement, (p. 546)

These critical-thinking skills are most likely to be demonstratedin thehigher stages (Stages 5-7) of The Reflective JudgmentModel. Unfortunately, most studies do not include students beyond Stage 5.

Intellectual and Ethical DevelopmentIn Perry's Scheme, differences in knowledge structures (epistemology) account for the difficulty in developing critical-thinkingskills (Kurfiss, 1988). Underlying critical thinking are assumptions about knowledge, truth, authority, and inquiry that are implicit in the process. Prior to Relativism, learners assume thatexternal authorities provide them with truth and knowledge, whichacts as a barrier to critical thinking; inquiry is not understood. InRelativism, learners identify assumptions underlying their beliefs,justify their ideas and actions, and judge the rationality of theirjustifications.Intellectual development theorists argue that "individual differences in critical thinkingmay be best explained by positingstages of thinking which change in systematic, qualitative ways"(Van Hecke, 1990, p. 6). When individuals believe that all opinions are equally valid (Multiplicity) and critical thinking s anaccumulation of discrete skills, individuals are seen as poor critical thinkers. As individuals change their assumptions about thenature of knowledge to a contextual structure (Relativism), opinions are compared, evaluated, and synthesized across differentcontexts and individuals are seen as good critical thinkers.


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Business Administration 313InstrumentsThe two instruments being used in this study are the CaliforniaCritical ThinkingDisposition InventoryCCTDI) and theLearning Environment Preferences (LEP). More research needs to beconducted using theCCTDI instrument. At this time, there is onlyone published studyestablishing thevalidity of the instrument(Facione et al., 1995). Research using the LEP shows thatmovement on Perry's Scheme is related to education. Vocational education instructors with more education (masters' degrees) reasonedat higher stages of intellectual development than did their counterparts with less education (bachelors' degrees or no degrees)(Wilson, 1995). In the same study, women scored significantlyhigher on the LEP thanmen and were perceived as more nurturing, people-oriented, and patient, and as having good networkingand group decision-making skills. Still, more research using theLEP needs tobe published.The literature review demonstrates the complexity of criticalthinking and the importance of how the construct is defined intheoretical models, which impacts measurement and how the instrument is used. In the next section, the limitations of theCCTDI,the instrumenteing used for thisstudy,will be identified, longwith the need for additional research. First, however, the scopewill define the general education requirements of the students whoparticipated in the study and how it relates to critical thinking.

Scope and LimitationsStudents participating in this study are freshmen enrolled in oneof eight colleges of a university and are required to complete general education courses. One of the six objectives for the generaleducation program encompasses "the development of higher-order thinking skills in each student." Namely, "an understandingof information and principles in some areas of the liberal arts andsciences in sufficient depth to encourage critical and creativethought and expression" (California State University, Northridge


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314 Wilson

Catalog, 1996-1998, p. 46). Three out of the 52 general education units must be from the subsection of Critical Reasoning, whichincludes five courses offered by the Philosophy Department?General Logic, Critical Reasoning, Inductive Logic and the ScientificMethod, and Symbolic Logic I and II. Students in thisstudy are beginning to fulfill their general education requirements.The California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory has thepotential to be used for assessment. However, more research isneeded to determine the appropriate use of the instrument. Specifically, longevity research is needed to investigate how students'dispositions toward critical thinking change over time. For example, the Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI) indicates that college students change one-half of a stage (seven total stages) between freshman and sophomore years (King, Kitchener, & Strohm,1985). Consequently, the RJI would not be a good measure ofcourse assessment and how students changed during a semester;itwould be a better measure for program assessment over a fouryear period.At the present time, this study is limited to data collected fromcollege freshmen. Over the next six years, however, students completing their rogramswill be invitedtoretake theCCTDI duringthe last semester of their senior year. In addition, I am concurrently conducting another study to investigate course assessmentmeasurements of analytical writing, disposition toward criticalthinking, and the use of instructional activities.

MethodologyThis was a descriptive study designed to compare groups and testrelationships.

PopulationThe population comprised 693 African American, Latino, andWhite freshmen students in the College of Business Administration and Economics (COBAE) of a large state university in California; the students were majoring in accounting, management


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Business Administration 315information systems, economics, business law, finance, marketing,management, business education, office systems, ormanagement science. Representation in the population was as follows:African American females, 6 percent; African American males, 7percent; Latino females, 12 percent; Latino males, 10 percent;White females, 8 percent; and White males, 13 percent. Thus,African American, Latino, andWhite ethnic groups accounted for56 percent of freshmen in the COBAE. The other 44 percent included the following ethnic groups: American Indian, Asian,Middle East, and Other.

ParticipantsThe size of the groups was determined by a power test (Huitema,1980). Power was set at .80, alpha at .05, and sample size wascalculated to be 20.16. The minimum number of participants pergroup was set at 20. Student participation in this study was asfollows: 13African American females, 7 African American males,11 Latino females, 13 Latino males, 15 White females, and 10White males. Thus, group size for ethnicity was 20, 24, and 25respectively.

InstrumentsCalifornia Critical Thinking ispositions Inventory CCTDI)Facione, Facione, and Sanchez's CCTDI contains 75 Likert-typeitems and reports an individual score on each of the seven individual scales as well as a total score (1994). (Definitions of theindividual scales are provided in "Disposition Toward CriticalThinking," above.) Respondents are asked to rate each statementby choosing one out of six responses ranging from Strongly Disagrees to Strongly Agrees. Scores on the individual scales canrange from 10 to 60; scores above 40 indicate a positive tendencytoward the disposition. The total score is a sum of the individualscores and can range from 70 to 420; scores above 280 indicate apositive overall disposition toward critical thinking.

Alpha reliabilities for the seven individual scales in the initialpilot sample ranged from .71 to .80. The alpha reliability for the


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316 Wilsonoverall instrument, measuring the overall disposition toward critical thinking, was .91 (Facione et al., 1995).

Learning Environment Preferences (LEP)The Learning Environmental Preferences (LEP) is a survey instrument consisting of five domains related to epistemology andapproaches to learning: (a) view of knowledge and course content, (b) role of the instructor, (c) role of the student and peers inthe classroom, (d) the classroom atmosphere, and (e) the role ofevaluation (Moore, 1989, 1990). Each domain presents a list of13 itemsbeginningwith theleastcomplex items nd followedbyamixture of more complex items; each item in the five domainsrepresents a position in Perry's Scheme. Participants are askedto rate each statement in terms of its significance or importanceusing a ratingscale from (1) Not at all Significant to (5) VerySignificant. At the end of each domain, participants are asked torank the top three statements according to significance or importance (1st, 2nd, 3rd).The LEP measures the intellectual portion of Perry's Scheme,Position 2-5 (Dualism, Position 2; Multiplicity, Positions 3 and4; and Relativism, Position 5). Position 1 is ignored because itrarely exists at the college level. Beyond Position 5, there is ashift in focus from intellectual development to ethical development; however, it is very difficult tomeasure ethical development(Commitment, Positions 7-9) using an objective survey instrument. The reliability coefficients for each position were as follows: Position 2, .81; Position 3, .72; Position 4, .84; and Position5, .84 (Moore, 1989).

ProceduresA 3 2 design, three groups of ethnic background (African American, Latino, andWhite), with gender subgroups was used. Thirtyfive students were randomly selected from each of six populations?African American females, African American males, Latinofemales, Latino males, White females, andWhite males to assurethat ethnic background and gender were represented in groups and


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Business Administration 317subgroups. Information on ethnicity, gender, GPA, and SAT scoreswas provided by the university administration.Each of the randomly selected students received an envelopein themail containing a letter inviting them to participate in thestudy, a consent form, two instruments, a stamped return envelope, and a $5 stipend. Each student was asked to complete theconsent form and instruments and return all materials. Each instrument takes most participants 30-45 minutes to complete.A follow-up postcard

was sent one week after the first letter.Two weeks following the postcard, a second letter was sent withanother consent form, both instruments, and a stamped return envelope. Twenty-three students responded after the first letter, 31after the postcard, and 17 after the second letter,making the totalresponse rate 30 percent. Two surveys were unusable.

Analysis ofDataFor Research Question 1, summary and frequency statistics wererunfor disposition toward ritical thinking y ethnicity ndgender. For Research Questions 2 and 3, group differences were testedby a two-way factorial ANOVA between the CCTDI score (dependent variable) and ethnicity and gender (independent variables).Because gender was significant, additional one-way ANOVAs wererun for each of the individual scales of theCCTDI by gender(Facione et al., 1995). For Research Question 4, the relationshipsbetween a disposition toward critical thinking (dependent variable) and SAT scores and GPA (independent variables) were testedbymultiple regression using the stepwise method. Research Question 5 was tested by multiple regression between the CCTDI andthe LEP. Because the relationship was significant, multiple regression was run between the LEP (dependent variable) and theseven individual scales (independentvariables) of theCCTDI(Grimm& Yarnold, 1995).

Findings and DiscussionIn Table 1, the frequency distribution for a disposition toward critical thinking shows a normal distribution, with 68 percent of par


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318 Wilsonticipants having a positive overall disposition toward critical thinking. However, the scores for a disposition toward critical thinking shows a higher range for males than for females.Table 1. CCTDI FrequencyDistributionof Freshmanby Ethnicity ndGender

Ethnicity GenderAfricanScore American Latino White Male Female Total

225-238 112239-252 2 3253-266 2 2 4 4267-280 347281-294 5 4 5 116295-308 6 4 8 86309-322 3 12 4323-336 22 4 6337-350 2 11 3 1 4351-365 1 1 120 25 24 30 399

Table 2 shows a comparison of mean CCTDI scores betweenthe freshmen in this study and the freshmen in the Facione et al.(1995) validation study. In the Facione et al. study, freshmen havea higher totalmean score than COB AE freshmen, as well as higherindividual mean scores in Truth-Seeking, Open-Mindedness, InTable 2. Comparison ofCCTDI Scores ofCOBAE Freshmanwith Freshman inthe CTDI Validation Study1

COBAE Validation StudyScales Mean SDean SD

Total Score 291.22 28.71 298.227.36Truth-Seeking 33.65 7.11 35.36 5.40Open-Mindedness 40.07 4.954.96 5.73Analyticity 44.35 5.17 42.89 5.08Systematicity 40.85 6.77 40.30 6.55Self-Confidence 43.74 6.962.53 6.22Inquisitiveness 46.31 6.34 47.60 6.10Maturity 41.88 7.39 44.58.38bacione, Facione, Sanchez, & Gainen, 1995.


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Business Administration 319quisitiveness, and Maturity. In contrast, freshmen in this studyhad higher individual mean scores inAnalyticity, Systematicity,and Self-Confidence. The Facione et al. sample "was drawn froma selective, private, comprehensive university" (1995, p. 12). Incontrast, the sample for this study was drawn from a state university in the California system. Considering the difference in populations, themean scores and standard deviations seem comparable.

Disposition Toward Critical Thinking and EthnicityTable 3 shows summary statistics for CCTDI scores and groupvariables. In testing for differences in a disposition toward critical thinking among ethnic groups, no significant difference wasfound. Table 4 shows theANOVA table with alpha at .05. Ethnicitywas nonsignificant, with F(2, 63) = 2.96 and > .059. At thistime, no published studies have tested for differences in a disposition toward critical thinking among ethnic groups.Table 3. SummaryStatisticsofCCTDI Scores for NOVA GroupVariables

Groupsean SD VarianceAfricanAmerican 302.30 24.43 596.8530Latino 383.32 24.87 618.405White90.21 33.51 1122.694Male98.24 28.66 821.699Female86.13 28.00 783.860

Table 4. Two-WayANOVA for CTDI byEthnicity ndGender_Sum of Mean FSourcef Squares Square Ratio Prob

Main Effects 3 6530.56 2176.85 3.00 .037Ethnicity 2 4283.34 2141.67 2.96 .059Gender 3300.05 3300.05 4.55 .037*

Ethnicity/Gender 2 2908.71 1454.36 2.00 .143Explained 5 10395.69 2079.14 2.87 .021Residual 63 45648.05 724.57TOTAL8 56043.74 824.17

*p < .05


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320 WilsonDisposition Toward Critical Thinking and GenderA significant difference in disposition toward critical thinking wasfound between men and women. Table 4 shows that gender had aratio of F(l, 63) = 4.55 with > .037. Men had a higher meantotal CCTDI score, as well as a higher mean score in six of theseven individual scales; women had a higher mean score for oneof the scales. Men scored significantly higher in Truth-Seeking(p < .019) and Inquisitiveness (p< .012). Both dispositions aresimilar, portraying a desire for inquiry and new evidence.Facione et al. (1995) also found significant gender differences,with men scoring higher inAnalyticity while women scored higherinOpen-Mindedness andMaturity. Significant gender differencesin a disposition toward critical thinking were attributed to developmental differences in young adult men and women or to theirperceptions of social-gender roles.No other published studies have tested for gender differencesusing the CCTDI. However, studies in the area of moral development, ego development, and intellectual development have foundcultural differences between men and women (Belenky, Clinchy,Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986; Gilligan, 1982; Josselson, 1987;Wilson, 1995).

Disposition Toward Critical Thinking and AchievementVariablesGPA and SAT scores were not significantly related to a dispositiontoward critical thinking. Mean scores for the achievement variables were as follows: GPA (2.19), SAT (870),MSAT (450), andVSAT(420). Mean SAT scores should be interpreted with cautionbecause high-school students in the upper five percent of their classinCalifornia are not required to report SAT scores when applyingwithin the California State University system; for this study, 8 students out of 69 did not report SAT scores. Achievement variablesexplained only three percent of the variability in a disposition toward critical thinking, and there was a negative relationship between a disposition toward critical thinking and theMSAT.


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Business Administration 321The CCTDI and The LEPTable 5 shows that 72 percent of freshmen in this study were inearly Multiplicity, Positions 3 and 3/4 of their intellectual development. InMultiplicity, the students acknowledge different viewpoints. Judgment of these viewpoints, however, is made on thebasis of quantity rather than quality, with students often choosingevidence that fitsan established belief (King, 1994). Quantitymeans choosing evidence provided by external authorities whilequality means choosing evidence only after internal evaluation.In Relativism (Position 5), students have knowledge structuresthat aremost likely associated with critical thinking. Table 5 showsTable 5. FrequencyDistributionof PositionRatings on the EP by IntellectualDevelopment of FreshmenIntellectual PositionRatings by%

Development of -Freshmen Pos 21 Pos 3 Pos 4 Pos 5DualismPosition 22 72 202Transition 2/3 58 265MultiplicityPosition 3Transition 3/4Position4Transition4/5

lrThepercentage of times a person chose items representing Position 2 in theLEP.2Students in this study in thePosition 2 stage of intellectual development.that students chose items in Position 5 more frequently as theirintellectual development progresses. For instance, two studentsin Position 2 chose from Position 5 items 0 percent of the time,while seven students in Position 4 chose Position 5 items 33 percent of the time. Students inRelativism will choose Position 5items at least 50 percent of the time.As shown in Table 6, the CCTDI was significantly related tothe LEP, with


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322 Wilsonance in a disposition toward critical thinking was explained byintellectual development. As shown in Table 6, when stepwisemultiple regression was run with the LEP as the dependent variable and the CCTDI individual scales as the independent variables, Maturity was significantly related to theLEP, with T= 3.124and < .0027. Eleven percent of the variability in intellectualdevelopment was explained by Maturity.The definition ofMaturity in theCCTDI includes concepts suchas inquiry, ill-structured problems, decision making, plausibleanswers, judgments being made inmultiple contexts, and evidence.These concepts are consistent with the construct of Relativism inPerry's Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development.

Unexpectedly, other individual scales, such as OpenMindedness, Analyticity, and Truth-Seeking, were not significantlyrelated to the CCTDI. This is difficult to explain. Three possibleTable 6. Multiple Regression Statisticsforthe CTDI and theLEP_Variables SEBeta Sig

LEP1415778 .164713 .296787 2.525 .0140*(Constant) 196.235583 48.160675 4.075 .0001

Maturity2 21.964674 .628995 .358867 3.124 .0027*(Constant) 234.964819 26.744354 8.786 .0000

reasons include these: (1) the design of the LEP may be confounded, (2) reliabilityof theCCTDI is somewhatunstable, and(3) Open-Mindedness, Analyticity, and Truth-Seeking are different constructs. First, the LEP is designed around educational experiences rather than an epistemological platform of how studentsmake meaning of their educational experiences. Second, the individual scales of theCCTDI were definedby a Delphi methodwith crossdisciplinary consensus resulting in alpha reliabilitiesranging from .71 to .80 in the initial pilot sample and from .60 to

*p


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Business Administration 323.78 in two additional samples (Facione et al., 1995). Third, Open

Mindedness, Analyticity, and Truth-Seeking are not related to theepistemological theory of intellectual development. They may bemore closely related to generalized critical-thinking skills that aretransferable across disciplines and are not content specific.The relationship between the CCTDI and theLEP needs to be retested with a more comprehensive sample having representation inPosition 4/5 of theLEP, as well as higher total scores on theCCTDI.

SummaryCOBAE Freshmen had a positive tendency for a disposition toward critical thinking. There were no significant differences indisposition toward critical thinking among ethnic groups (African American, Latino, andWhite). There was a significant difference in disposition toward critical thinking for gender, with menscoring significantly higher thanwomen inTruth-Seeking and Inquisitiveness. A disposition toward critical thinking was not significantly related to GPA or SAT scores. The LEP and theCCTDI were significantly related. Of the seven CCTDI individualscales, only Maturity was significantly related to the LEP.

Implications of theStudyBased on the results of this study, I will note five implicationsthat relate to education and assessment:(1) African American, Latino, and White ethnic groups entertheCOBAE of the California State University system at this campus with no ethnic barriers restricting the students' dispositionstoward critical thinking. African American and Latino freshmenare not disadvantaged or underprepared compared toWhites in adisposition toward critical thinking.

(2) Women enter the COBAE of the California State University system at this campus with weaker dispositions toward critical thinking. Women need to be provided with more opportunities in which there is positive reinforcement for cultivating a desire for investigating ideas, participating in a dialectical process,and evaluating evidence.


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324 Wilson(3) Achievement scores (GPA and SAT scores) are not goodmeasures of a student's disposition toward critical thinking in theCOBAE of the California State University system at this campus.Since themission of the university and college includes the de

velopment of higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, assessment of these skills using appropriate validated measures is needed.

(4) Maturity is associated with beliefs about truths nd theirknowledge structures. Students inDualism prefer a dualistic context in which one solution appears to be more right than othersand students inMultiplicity make decisions based on quantity,not quality. Consequently, there needs to be embedded and integrated into the curriculum appropriate experiences that presentill-structured problems with more than one plausible option suchthat judgments are contextual and founded on values and beliefs.

(5) More research is needed to determine the appropriate useof the CCTDI. Specifically, longevity studies investigatingwhether significant changes occur between freshmen and seniorscores on the CCTDI need to be published. There is similar needfor comparison studies in specific courses that investigate the effects of instructional strategies that are used to develop the dispositional attributes toward critical thinking. Furthermore, the individual subscales of the CCTDI and other instruments measuringgeneralized critical-thinking skills need to be investigated to determine whether they are the same construct.Because critical thinking is included in themission statementsand program objectives of some universities and colleges, there isa need to assess the construct. The CCTDI may be useful as aprogram/course-assessment instrument. However, critical thinkingmust be defined by institutions and then appropriately matchedwith an instrument measuring the same construct.

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