Identifying Critical Thinking Profiles Among Spanish University Students: A Cluster Analysis with the K-Means Method

Mireia Vendrell Morancho; Jesús Miguel Rodríguez Mantilla; María José Fernández Díaz

doi:10.30827/relieve.v30i2.28208

Autores

Mireia Vendrell Morancho Complutense University of Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7286-8867
Jesús Miguel Rodríguez Mantilla Complutense University of Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0885-3484
María José Fernández Díaz Complutense University of Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v30i2.28208

Palavras-chave:

pensamento crítico, validação, ensino superior

Resumo

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o nível de pensamento crítico nos estudantes universitários espanhóis, a fim de identificar diferentes perfis através da análise de conglomerados com o método K-medias. Para isso, foi utilizado um instrumento validado de perguntas fechadas tipo Likert, concebido com base em fundamentos teóricos sólidos, na avaliação de peritos e num estudo-piloto, que mostrou uma excelente fiabilidade global (α=0,86) e por dimensões (α=0,81 e 0,76). A amostra incluiu 5238 estudantes universitários de diversas áreas e contextos educativos. Os resultados indicam que, em geral, os estudantes universitários espanhóis apresentam um elevado nível de competências de pensamento crítico, embora existem variações significativas associadas a fatores

sociodemográficos, tais como género, idade, ano de estudo, área de estudo, propriedade institucional e Comunidade Autónoma. Além disso, foi identificada uma correlação positiva entre o pensamento crítico e o desempenho académico, medido pelas qualificações do processo. Através da análise de conglomerados, foram identificados três perfis distintos: alto, médio-alto e médio em competências de pensamento crítico, com uma distribuição influenciada pelas variáveis analisadas. Estes resultados sublinham a importância de conceber programas educativos adaptados para reforçar o pensamento crítico no contexto universitário espanhol. O estudo oferece também implicações pedagógicas e orientações para investigações futuras nesta área. Apesar das suas limitações, esta investigação alarga a nossa compreensão sobre a competência de pensamento crítico e proporciona uma base fundamentada para o desenvolvimento de intervenções educativas destinadas a melhorá-la.

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Biografias Autor

Mireia Vendrell Morancho, Complutense University of Madrid

PhD in Education, a Master’s in Educational Research from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), and a Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education from the University of Lleida (UdL). She currently works as a Teaching and Research Staff member at the Faculty of Education at UCM, specifically in the Department of Research and Psychology in Education, focusing on Research Methods and Educational Diagnosis. Her recent work focuses on assessing critical thinking among Spanish university students. She has collaborated with the Psychometrics Centre at the University of Cambridge, where she contributed to projects on assessing creativity through literary texts. She has also undertaken research stays at the University of Barcelona and the Centre for Educational Assessment at the University of Oxford, contributing to an international project focused on the development and evaluation of critical thinking across diverse countries and curricula.

Jesús Miguel Rodríguez Mantilla, Complutense University of Madrid

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Research and Psychology in Education (specifically in the area of Research Methods and Educational Diagnosis) at the Faculty of Education, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). He holds a PhD in Education, a Master’s in Leadership and Management of Educational Institutions, a Bachelor’s degree in Psychopedagogy, and a Diploma in Primary Education Teaching, all from UCM. He is currently the Coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy at UCM, Deputy Editor of Revista Bordón, and Director of Research Group 940418: Quality and Evaluation of Educational Institutions. His main research areas focus on topics related to educational quality, teaching competencies, student academic performance assessment, burnout syndrome, and school climate.

María José Fernández Díaz, Complutense University of Madrid

Emeritus Professor in the Department of Research and Psychology in Education at the Faculty of Education, Complutense University of Madrid, where she completed her doctoral thesis. She served as Dean of the Faculty for eight years (2010–2018). Her areas of expertise include research methodology, teacher and school leader training, evaluation, and quality assurance. From 2004 to 2022, she led a research group called "Quality and Evaluation of Educational Institutions," which focused on topics funded by public bodies, including R&D&I projects, among others. Recent projects have investigated the impact of implementing quality management systems in schools and the processes of verification and accreditation in universities. These efforts have resulted in numerous publications in high-impact journals. Internationally, she has delivered courses and lectures at universities and organisations across various countries and has participated in numerous international conferences on these topics.

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