Patterns and purposes in the uses and misuses of the term ‘critical thinking’ in the social sciences

• Published in: European journal of education Vol. 58; no. 3; pp. 462 - 476
• Main Authors: Bregvadze, Tamar, Medjad, Karim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Content analysis; Critical thinking; Discourses; Education; Humanities and Social Sciences; Social sciences; Thinking Skills; France; Germany; Russia
• ISSN: 0141-8211; 1465-3435
• DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12562

This article analyses the uses and representations of the term “critical thinking” in the social science literature, based on a qualitative content analysis of titles, s and keywords retrieved from the SCOPUS database for Germany, France and Russia over the last two decades. Our analysis focuses on how the use of the term “critical thinking” has increased over time, in which contexts the term is used and in which part of article texts it is used. Our findings are counterintuitive on several levels. First, the term “critical thinking” is seldom used in a pluri‐disciplinary context. More commonly, it is used within specific discourses—notably education. Second, we found that it is mainly used instrumentally, rather than analytically. Third, most of the articles that use the term do not engage in actual critical analysis. There are also important geographic variation in the use of the term. In articles from Germany and Russia the term is used in similar ways—and differently in France. These nuances are difficult to analyse however, due to the different topics addressed, as well as author preferences. The use of the term “critical thinking” is diverse; indeed, at times weak and paradoxical. Finally, we discuss how editorial policy in academic journals possibly influences the discourse on critical thinking.