Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Hadi Salehi ¹
• Nasim Mehrabian ²
• Omid Tabatabaei ¹
• Hossein Vahid-Dastjerdi ¹

¹ English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

² Islamic Azad University- Najafabad Branch

Abstract

This study aimed, firstly, to examine the relationship between university EFL teachers’ critical thinking tendencies and their problem-solving skills, and secondly, to explore the prediction of university EFL teachers’ critical thinking tendencies by problem-solving skills, gender, and teaching experience. The study was designed in correlational survey method. In total, 70 university EFL teachers (35 males and 35 females), from Azad and Payame Noor universities located in Isfahan and Ilam provinces teaching undergraduate students majoring in English, participated in this research. Data were collected via the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and the Problem Solving Inventory. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, and stepwise regression analysis. The relationship between critical thinking tendencies and problem-solving skills was investigated through Pearson Product Moments Correlation Coefficient, and stepwise regression analysis was run to determine whether university EFL teachers' problem-solving skills, gender, and teaching experience can significantly predict their critical thinking tendencies. The findings indicated that there was a positive, moderate, and significant relationship between university EFL teachers' problem-solving skills and their critical thinking tendencies, while there was no significant difference according to gender.

Keywords

• critical thinking tendencies
• Gender
• Problem-solving skills
• Teaching experience
• University EFL teachers

Main Subjects

• English language teaching