Critical Thinking and Gender Differences in Academic Self-regulation in Higher Education

Abstract

In congruence with the studies corroborating the significant role of higher-order thinking skills and metacognitive abilities, this study intended to investigate the association between the two subcomponents of critical thinking, inference-making and deduction, and one subcomponent of self-regulation, self-monitoring, as well as the role of gender in each of these constructs. To attain the purpose of the study, 120 EFL university learners were selected according to a convenience sampling. They were requested to complete the Watson-Glaser's Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Self-Regulation Trait Questionnaire. They were also asked to indicate their gender on their questionnaires. It was revealed that there were significant interrelationships among all variables as follows: self-monitoring and inference-making (r = 0.353), self-monitoring and deduction (r = 0.350), and inference-making and deduction (r = 0.389). In addition, gender did not play a part in students' inference-making, deduction, and self-monitoring. This study has some implications for EFL instructors, curriculum designers, and learners to make appropriate use of these relationships and take the required steps for encouraging EFL university students' self-monitoring, inference-making, and deduction irrespective of their gender.