How do Chinese students’ critical thinking compare with other students? A structured review of the existing evidence

An increasing number of Chinese students are now studying abroad in western universities, and there is a widespread concern among western academics that Chinese students are not trained to have a critical mind. However, there is little empirical evidence so far as to whether this is actually the case. This paper presents the results of a systematic review of international studies that compare the critical thinking of Chinese students with students of other nationalities. A search of eight social science databases supplemented by other sources found 15 studies that met pre-specified inclusion criteria. Nine of these focused on students’ critical thinking skills, but their results were mixed. There is no evidence to support the claim that Chinese students have higher or lower critical thinking skills than other students. The research in this area is weak. Five studies on critical thinking dispositions suggest that Chinese students were less disposed to critical thinking, which is not the same as being weak in critical thinking. Only one study was about critical thinking style, indicating that Chinese students perfer information-seeking to engaging in critical thinking. Almost all studies were small-scale using weak designs. These findings suggest that the critical thinking of Chinese students is under-studied, and therefore, more robust, larger-scale experimental studies are needed.