Disposition towards critical thinking: a study of Chinese undergraduate nursing students

Disposition towards critical thinking: a study of Chinese undergraduate nursing students The purpose of this study was to explore empirically whether undergraduate nursing students at a selected university in Hong Kong display a disposition towards critical thinking. The California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure the key theoretical aspects of the overall dispositional dimension of critical thinking. A cross‐sectional descriptive design was used to examine 122 Chinese students who were completing their 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of a university baccalaureate nursing programme. In the majority of sub‐scales of CCTDI, students showed a negative disposition towards critical thinking. A one‐way ANOVA indicated that year 3 students scored significantly lower than their junior counterparts ( P < 0·001). Pearson product moment correlation coefficient yielded a significant positive relationship between critical thinking dispositions and term grade point average ( P < 0·05). Consistent with the findings of western studies, the students scored lowest on the truth‐seeking sub‐scale and highest on the inquisitiveness. Discussion of the findings with regard to nursing education, curriculum and research is delineated.