Critical Thinking Attitudinal Profile of the Malaysian Science Student Teachers: Implication towards Teacher Education Programme

Critical Thinking Attitudinal Profile of the Malaysian Science Student Teachers: Implication towards Teacher Education Programme

Critical analysis of the evolution and conception of critical thinking reveals the establishment of three thinking enterprises which underpin any critical thinking operations: the possession of in-depth knowledge structure, adroitness in operating cognitive as well as metacognitive operations and critical thinking dispositions. Not denying the significant role play by the first two, any critical thinking operation is intrinsically motivated by the critical thinking dispositions. Therefore, the examination of science student teachers' critical thinking dispositions will inform us the possibility of integrating the critical thinking skills in a science classroom, which may then lead to the development of these skills among the pupils. The critical thinking attitudinal profile is built by using information garnered by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory Test (CCTDI). In this paper, the attitudinal profile of the science student teachers will be revealed and suggestions are then proposed on the attitudes that need to be developed. The information revealed from the attitudinal profile will be used as a guideline on how the teacher education programme should be tailored towards the nourishment of these attitudes so that the aspiration of the inclusion of critical thinking skills in the science classroom will be realised.