Developing criticalthinking in higher education

Motivation for nurses undertaking a post‐registration qualification in Malaysia

“…In 1995, the year the degree programme commenced, the transition of nursing education to tertiary sectors for the Malaysian nurses was almost non‐existent. Internationally, the transition to tertiary education for the nursing profession was a move to promote nursing education to enhance the critical ability of nurses (Glen 1995; Miller 1992) and to produce a higher standard of patient care (Foley 1997). The goal was that nursing education would in turn be recognized by all allied health professions, thereby increasing its professional importance.…”

Critical thinking as an outcome of nursing education. What is it? Why is it important to nursing practice?

“…Secondly, there is an evolving paradigm shift in nursing away from reasoning strategies that are positivistic, curative, task orientated, objective, detached and rule driven. The current emphasis is towards unbiased, holistic, autonomous clinical reasoning, which reflects non‐detached consideration of individualised physical, cognitive, contextual and affective variables, and is thus testament to the changed perceptions of nursings’ cognitive demands in relation to its professional practice ( Glen 1995, Hendricks‐Thomas & Patterson 1995, Baker 1996). Sound nursing judgement therefore requires that the nurse reasons in a manner which utilizes appropriate generic nursing knowledge contextually adjusted to match clients’ unique cases ( Paul & Heaslip 1995).…”

“…In concert with this wholesale integration various social and political forces have underpinned current demands for higher education, and therefore nursing, to demonstrate the effectiveness and quality of educational programmes. One such distinguishing qualitative indicator of higher education, in which there exists general agreement is that of critical thinking and the intellectual maturity that it confers ( Glen 1995). Girot (1995) posits that it is independent critical thinking which delineates non‐graduates from graduates.…”

Is there a Relationship between Critical Thinking and Critical Reading of Literary Texts: A Case Study at Arak University (Iran)

“…In almost all academic branches, critical thinking has been followed as a pedagogical target (Mangena & Chabeli, 2005). Glen (1995) believed that critical thinking is considered as an essential part of pedagogy, a characteristic of an instructed person. The downfall is, one cannot teach critical thinking if one is not a critical thinker oneself.…”