Do Students from Different Cultures Think Differently about Critical and Other Thinking Skills?

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore what students from different cultural backgrounds think “good” thinking skills are, including the skills they perceive as being necessary in their studies. We report on findings from focus group interviews we conducted with undergraduate university students from Kyoto and Okinawa in Japan, and from Auckland in New Zealand. What the students said during the interviews shows important similarities in views about what “good thinkers” possess, including many qualities associated with critical thinking such as consideration of different or alternative perspectives. However, when we specifically asked about the meaning of “critical thinking,” many of the students from Okinawa indicated uncertainty in their responses, and the students from Auckland and Okinawa also referred to thinking approaches that are not commonly associated with critical thinking such as intuition and positive thinking. The findings from our investigation suggest that students need more explicit instruction to promote critical thinking skills development, and that they should be provided clearer, more transparent explanations of the thinking skills they are expected to demonstrate in their courses of study.