Undergraduates' experiences of critical thinking

Critical thinking is said to be a defining characteristic of a university graduate. In literature on critical thinking, conceptions range from a focus on generic skills to a notion of person as critical being. However, there is little research on university students' experiences of critical thinking. Experiences of undergraduate students, enrolled in a management course in which the main theme was critical analysis and communication, were explored through a modified phenomenographic approach and a problem‐solving task using a ‘think aloud’ technique. Results include four experiences of critical thinking ranging from a prescribed process to an evaluation that looked beyond what is evident, and a number of dimensional attributes. Students' experiences of criticality and the language they used to describe the experiences were limited, pointing particularly to a need for changes in the academic structures that exist outside the immediate classroom environment.