Cause-effect modelling of nine pedagogical methods for enhancing students’ critical thinking

Critical Thinking (CT) has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a core skill for the workforce of 2025, positioning higher education as a key driver in cultivating students' cognitive and metacognitive capabilities. Despite its acknowledged importance, translating CT development into practical, structured educational strategies remains a persistent challenge. This study investigates both the breadth and hierarchical interdependencies of strategies for enhancing university students’ CT, providing evidence-informed guidance for curriculum design. Adopting a qualitative, interpretive paradigm, the study combines semi-structured interviews with Interactive Management (IM) and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) to systematically map the relationships among CT-enhancing strategies. Nineteen participants - comprising academics and senior students - contributed to generating insights grounded in both teaching and learning experiences. Through iterative coding and consensus-building, nine distinct solutions were identified, defined, and organized into a three-layer hierarchical cause–effect model illustrating their mutual reinforcement and sequential dependencies. The findings reveal not only which CT strategies serve as foundational triggers but also how combinations of interventions can produce synergistic effects, offering a structured framework for prioritizing and sequencing pedagogical practices. Methodologically, the integration of IM and ISM provides a novel approach to translating qualitative perceptions into actionable, relational models of educational interventions. Conceptually, the study advances CT research by moving beyond isolated strategies to a systems-level understanding of how interconnected solutions collectively enhance critical thinking. This study contributes both theoretically and practically by providing a replicable, context-sensitive model for enhancing CT, offering educators and curriculum designers actionable guidance for implementing high-impact, strategically sequenced interventions tailored to diverse learning environments.