title: Disposition towards critical thinking: a study of Chinese undergraduate nursing students.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong. ip2012@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: I F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Wootton
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044466:Asian People; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013338:Students, Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking