Cross-cultural critical thinking profiles: A multigroup latent profile analysis

Background: Critical thinking (CT) is an important 21st-century skill which enables individuals to actively use their knowledge and problem-solving skills to overcome life challenges. Educators, employers, and policymakers focus on CT skills to foster scientific thinking in education. In many countries, the development of CT skills has become a major component in education. CT skills training is offered to students based on the assumption that every student learns these skills in the same manner (i.e., homogeneity assumption). However, if heterogenous groups exist, accounting for this may provide more effective CT skills training.Methods: Latent profile analysis (LPA) was applied to the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT) with middle school students from South Korea (N = 520), Turkey (N = 996), and the United States (N = 1,599), separately, to determine if CT subpopulations exist for each country. Generalizability of the latent profiles across countries were investigated through a multi-group LPA similarity assessment. Results: Employing multiple fit criteria, a three-profile solution was identified for each country, and multi-group LPA analysis supported the similarity of the profiles across countries.Conclusion: Similar CT skill profiles across countries suggest that interventions for developing CT skills may be appropriate across educational contexts. Further work is needed to understand the mechanisms behind a student's CT profile and inform interventions or curricula for fostering CT skills. Future directions and limitations were discussed.