Faculty Attitudes and the Development of Students' Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is viewed as a major teaching goal by faculty (Siegal, 1988). When 2,700 teachers from 33 two- and four-year colleges were asked to identify among a list of choices what they perceived as their primary teaching role, "helping students develop higher-order thinking skills" tied with "teaching students facts and principles" for the highest number of responses; each was selected by 28% of those surveyed (Cross, 1993). Yet, there is evidence that little critical thinking development actually takes place in college classrooms (Barnes, 1983; Braxton Paul, Elder, & Bartell, 1997). This discrepancy between what is valued and what is pursued ought to be a perennial concern of practitioners and educational researchers alike.