An Investigation about Creative and Critical Thinking Skills of Prospective Teachers - A Preliminary Study

Oct 15, 2026

This preliminary study examines the prevalence of creative and critical thinking skills among prospective teachers in Punjab. The study surveys terminal-semester B.Ed. (1.5) and B.Ed. Honors students at five public sector universities, using a self-assessment seven-point Likert scale adapted from CPAS and CTSAS. Creative thinking is modeled through eight sub-factors and critical thinking through six sub-factors. Descriptive statistics guide analysis, concluding low-level dominance in perceptions of both skill sets.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

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An Investigation about Creative and Critical Thinking Skills of Prospective Teachers: A Preliminary Study Maimoona Naeem * and Rizwan Akram Rana** Abstract This preliminary study was designed to probe the prevalence of two main 21st century higher order thinking skills which are creative and critical thinking skills. The sole objective of the study was to examine the perception regarding the current level of creative and critical thinking skills among prospective teachers. All terminal semesters’ prospective teachers of public universities of the province Punjab from B.Ed. Honors and B.Ed. (1.5) were population of the study. The sample of the study was consisted of 311 prospective teachers of terminal semesters from two programs i.e. B.Ed. (1.5) and B.Ed. Honors. The convenient sampling technique was used to collect the data from five public sector universities. The instrument was a self-assessment scale based on two main higher-order thinking skills. Creative thinking skills were constructed on eight sub-factors and critical thinking skills on six sub-factors. Two instruments Creative Process Assessment Scale (CPAS), English and Urdu version by Schuler & Görlich (2007) and Critical Thinking Selfassessment Scale (CTSAS) short form by Payan et al., 2022 were adapted and merged for construction of a single self-assessment seven point likert-scale. The quantitative survey research was applied. The descriptive statistics were used to run the analysis. The study concluded the dominance of perception as low level of creative and critical thinking skills among prospective teachers. Keywords: Creative Thinking skills, Critical Thinking Skills and Prospective Teachers * Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Education, University of Management and Technology Lahore. Email: [f2021095012@umt.edu.pk](f2021095012@umt.edu.pk) ** Chairperson, Department of Education, University of Management and Technology Lahore. Email: [rizwan.akram@umt.edu.pk](rizwan.akram@umt.edu.pk) Introduction The growing incorporation of AI presents abundant challenges for the future workplace. Despite Industry revolution 4.0 being in its early stages, several industry trailblazers and tech leaders are already envisioning the emergence of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, often referred to as Industry 5.0. The industrial revolution 5.0 is almost set to join us (Mourtzis, 2021) and the industrial revolution 4.0 had already made a loud call embarked with globalization and a transferal from previous era to 21 st century. The 4.0 industrial revolution encompasses the use of AI, openness of information and extensive transition of life style (Sepriyanti et al., 2021) . The requirements of the 21st century underscore the crucial requisite for top-tier human means, refined by institutions with skillful management to yield loftier results. These sprouting necessities prompt novelties in thinking and actions (Ramirez, 2018) . Today's employment landscape entails persons skillful enough for operating, producing, and managing new information via technology. In this case, educational institutions own the chance to boost student eagerness for the demands of the contemporary millennium, relevant to required thinking skills (Miterianifa, 2021). The educational system is only a path to bridge the gap between job market supplies and programs intended to equip learners to strive effectively in this dynamic setting and at diverse workplaces (Khan et al., 2019) . In the up-to-minute time of knowledge-driven economy, higher education plays a pivotal part in the economic expansion and affluence of populations through learners as deep thinkers (Bhattacharya & Mohalik, 2021) . Afar the concern of spawning new knowledge, organizations of higher education including teacher education institutions are delegated with the task of enhancing forward-thinking skills in young learners, that is essential for booming in the new millennium. Higher education is the motivating force behind the u

FAQs

What is the main objective of the preliminary study?

To examine the perception of prospective teachers regarding their current level of creative and critical thinking skills.

Who participated in the study and how was the sample selected?

Terminal-semester prospective teachers from B.Ed. (1.5) and B.Ed. Honors programs participated; 311 were sampled using a convenient sampling technique from five public sector universities.

How were creative and critical thinking skills measured?

The study used an adapted and merged self-assessment seven-point Likert-scale instrument based on CPAS and CTSAS, where creative thinking had eight sub-factors and critical thinking had six sub-factors.

Oct 15, 2026

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