Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Comparison of the level of critical thinking skills of faculties and medical students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, 2021

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Abdolhussein Shakurnia
. Nasrin Khajeali
. Reza Sharifinia

Department of Medical Education, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract
BACKGROUND: One of the main tasks of educational institutions, in addition to developing students’
professional competencies, is to develop decision‑making and problem‑solving skills, which are
themselves influenced by critical thinking that should be developed by instructors at the university.
The aim of this study was to compare the level of critical thinking skills in students and faculties of
Ahwaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross‑sectional descriptive study, the sample consisted of
81 medical students and 52 faculty members of the medical school who were teaching and studying
in 2021. The research method was descriptiveanalytical and the data collection tool was the California
Critical Thinking Questionnaire Form B. SPSS‑18 software and t‑test were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: The mean score of students’ critical thinking skills was 12.49 ± 4.43 and that of faculties
was 12.44 ± 3.76 and no significant difference was observed between the scores of the two
groups (P = 0.94).
CONCLUSION: The findings of the study show that the level of critical thinking skills in both faculties
and students is below the standard and poor. The results of the study indicate the weakness of critical
thinking in students and faculties in all dimensions, which indicates the need to teach critical thinking
skills at the university level. Therefore, educational planners and faculty officials should pay more
attention to developing critical thinking skills in their educational programs.

Keywords

Critical thinking
faculty
medical education
students
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 12, Issue 10
November 2022
Pages 1-6

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