Measuring changes in critical thinking skills among university economics students: insights from domain-specific assessment

Studies in Higher Education. 2026. Vol. 51. No. 3. P. 649–664.

Tarasova K., Gracheva D., Talov D., Orel E., Dementiev A.

This study investigates the development of critical thinking (CT) skills in first-year university students enrolled in the Economic Thinking course, using a newly developed domain-specific CT assessment tool. Critical thinking is a vital competency for navigating complex decision-making in modern life, particularly in professional domains like economics. While many CT assessment tools treat the skill as generic, this study emphasizes the importance of subject-specific approaches, highlighting the need for validated tools tailored to economics students. The study introduces a conceptual framework for measuring CT in economics, developed through collaboration with experts and educators. Using an Evidence-Centered Design methodology, a domain-specific, computer-based tool was created to assess CT skills in economics. The research addressed two key questions: (1) How do students’ CT skills change after completing the course, as measured by the domain-specific tool? (2) What is the relationship between CT skills, economic knowledge, and academic performance? Undergraduate students were assessed before and after the course. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in CT skills (effect size: 0.44 SD) over the semester. Correlation analyses revealed moderate relationships between CT scores, academic performance, and prior economic knowledge, supporting the tool's validity. This study underscores the value of domainspecific tools for assessing and fostering critical thinking in discipline-specific contexts, contributing to the broader discourse on CT development in higher education.

Keywords: critical thinking, критическое мышление, economics education, Evidence-centered Design, domain-specific assessment, university economics students

Publication based on the results of: Features of assessment and development of soft skills in view of different levels of attention fixation (2024)