A Review of Constructs of Critical Thinking Skills

Abstract

To contend with today’s rapidly advancing information society, critical thinking (CT) skills have been recognized as significant not only in the native language but also in contexts where English is learned as a foreign language (EFL). However, previous studies have not provided a consistent definition of the CT skill construct. Therefore, the present study aimed to organize the constructs of CT skills proposed in previous CT research. Specifically, this study investigated similarities and differences in these constructs based on the theoretical background of CT and articles on the development of CT tests. The results indicated that CT skills comprise four skills: (a) identifying main points, (b) examining content, (c) inferring conclusions, and (d) metacognizing one’s own thoughts. Furthermore, specific characteristics of test items for measuring these CT skills were also established based on previous studies. The findings of this review provide suggestions for future research on the cultivation and assessment of CT skills in an EFL context.