Abstract:

In the presented paper, we dealt with critical thinking in terms of its theoretical understanding and assessing in the contextual level of higher education. Our main aim was to present an adaptation of the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA) for use in the Czech university environment. The test is intended primarily for university teachers and researchers who would be able to identify how their students use those cognitive skills or strategies in everyday life that increase the probability of a desirable outcome.

Within the theoretical aims, we analysed the main concepts in order to define the key term of critical thinking and summarize its possible ways of assessing. The practical goals reflected the individual steps of the adaptation process, where we went from justifying the choice of tool to its translation, considering equivalence at the level of construct, method and items to determine the psychometric properties of this tool.

The verification of the psychometric qualities of the Czech version of the HCTA test included a research sample (N = 622) of bachelor's degree students from three faculties of Palacký University in Olomouc. The reliability of the test based on the internal consistency of the items was measured by the McDonald's omega coefficient. Design validity was verified by confirmatory factor analysis. In conclusion, we can state that the results of the evaluation of psychometric properties of the Czech version of HCTA testify to the quality of the tool and thus create the potential for its further use in research activities, or standardisation for certain groups.

Keywords:

Critical thinking, adaptation of research tool, assessment of critical thinking, university environment, validity, reliability.