Critical thinking disposition among Thai dental students.

Objectives: Critical thinking is recognized as an essential aspect in the training of healthcare professionals, yet it has not been explicitly applied to dental education in Thailand. Therefore, this research study aimed to survey the status of critical thinking disposition among Thai dental students and examine the correlation between critical thinking disposition and academic performance.

Methods: In 2020, 322 students from a Thai dental school were invited to participate in the study and answer an online questionnaire supplying demographic data and Grade Point Average (GPA), and respond to the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). A one-way analysis of variance and Spearman's correlation were used to analyze the data.

Results: Overall, 279 of the 322 participants (86.6%) completed the demographic information and CCTDI. Three subscales were found to be in the ambivalent range: truth-seeking (36.8 ± 6.2), systematicity (39.0 ± 5.5), and maturity of judgment (37.1 ± 5.9). Most of the CCTDI subscale scores did not significantly correlate with GPAs, except for systematicity (r = 0.119, p = 0.047) and confidence in reasoning (r = 0.146, p = 0.015).

Conclusion: This study examined the strengths and weaknesses of the students' critical thinking dispositions. Their GPAs correlated with two critical thinking disposition subscales; however, the results did not guarantee a correlation with academic outcomes. Pedagogical strategies to develop dental students' critical thinking dispositions need to be further assessed.