Disposition towards critical thinking: a study of Chinese undergraduate nursing students

The purpose of this study was to explore empirically whether undergraduate nursing students at a selected university in Hong Kong display a disposition towards critical thinking. The California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure the key theoretical aspects of the overall dispositional dimension of critical thinking. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to examine 122 Chinese students who were completing their 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of a university baccalaureate nursing programme. In the majority of sub-scales of CCTDI, students showed a negative disposition towards critical thinking. A one-way ANOVA indicated that year 3 students scored significantly lower than their junior counterparts (P < 0. 001). Pearson product moment correlation coefficient yielded a significant positive relationship between critical thinking dispositions and term grade point average (P < 0.05). Consistent with the findings of western studies, the students scored lowest on the truth-seeking sub-scale and highest on the inquisitiveness. Discussion of the findings with regard to nursing education, curriculum and research is delineated.