An Empirical Study of Critical Thinking Quality Development in High School English Learners under the Cognitive Motivation Theory via SEM

Critical thinking quality has become an important topic in English education research. Based on cognitive motivation theory, this study proposes a theoretical framework for the development of critical thinking quality among high school English learners. The revised Chinese version of the Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory is used to survey 298 first-year high school students from Changsha Railway No. 1 Middle School and Shaoyang Wugang No. 1 Middle School. Structural equation modeling is employed for data analysis. Results show that the development levels of the seven dimensions of critical thinking quality, from highest to lowest, are maturity, open-mindedness, analyticity, truth-seeking, systematicity, inquisitiveness, and self-confidence. Path analysis shows that truth-seeking, open-mindedness, analyticity, self-confidence, inquisitiveness, and maturity have significant positive direct effects on the development of critical thinking quality. Systematicity shows a significant negative direct effect. Self-confidence has the strongest direct influence, followed by truth-seeking, maturity, inquisitiveness, analyticity, and open-mindedness. The study provides empirical evidence and a conceptual framework for cultivating critical thinking quality in high school English learning.