Problem-solving and critical thinking abilities serve as important outcomes
of any engineering programme. Engineering students are expected to solve
problems, ask questions, research and discover relevant information, and
consider new ideas. This paper presents the findings a study to determine
the initial critical thinking dispositions of new intake engineering
technology students in the effort to provide base-line data for the
integration of critical thinking (CT) in the English syllabus of the
engineering technology programme. This is part of a larger English
curriculum review exercise with a special focus on the integration of soft
skills. A 10-item self-assessment questionnaire was distributed to 1425 new
intake engineering students. When the findings of the CT dispositions are
considered, CT dimension of detecting bias and exaggeration was cited the
most among respondents. Low CT dimensions are evaluation and compare
and contrast. Additional findings from focus group interviews reveal
peculiar yet interesting insights on CT among the students. Implications of
the findings in relation to CT for engineering technology students are
discussed.
