Deficient Critical Thinking Skills among College Graduates: Implications for leadership

TLDR

Higher education has consistently failed to develop critical thinkers, leaving graduates ill‑prepared for the workforce and producing less effective leaders, largely because instruction remains content‑based. The study examines diverse definitions of critical thinking to create a general construct linking constructivism, leadership, and education. This construct was developed by reviewing and synthesizing various critical‑thinking definitions. Effective pedagogy shifts away from content‑based instruction toward teaching complex thinking, and the study identifies challenges and offers recommendations for implementing such curricula.

Abstract

Although higher education understands the need to develop critical thinkers, it has not lived up to the task consistently. Students are graduating deficient in these skills, unprepared to think critically once in the workforce. Limited development of cognitive processing skills leads to less effective leaders. Various definitions of critical thinking are examined to develop a general construct to guide the discussion as critical thinking is linked to constructivism, leadership, and education. Most pedagogy is content‐based built on deep knowledge. Successful critical thinking pedagogy is moving away from this paradigm, teaching students to think complexly. Some of the challenges faced by higher education moving to a critical thinking curricula are discussed, and recommendations are offered for improving outcomes.