An Assessment of Post-Professional Athletic Training Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions

Abstract

The need for outcome measures in critical thinking skills and dispositions for post-professional athletic training programs (PPATPs) is significant. It has been suggested that athletic trainers who are competent and disposed towards thinking critically will be successful in the profession. The purpose of this study is to assess critical thinking skills and dispositions of PPATP students who entered a program in either the summer or fall of 2012 utilizing the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). All PPATP first year students entering the program during fall or summer of 2012 and one program during fall 2013 were solicited to participate in this study. Of the 182, potential participants 65 responded for a response rate of 35.7% (age = 22.55±1.37), (BOC score = 578.20±54.32), (GRE verbal reasoning = 151±6.02), (GRE quantitative reasoning score = 149.91±6.75), (GRE analytical writing score 3.92±.57), (undergraduate GPA = 3.56±.28). Data collection occurred over six months starting in the fall of 2012. Three email reminders were sent approximately one week apart via email. Students reported moderate total critical thinking skills (73.14±9.87) and ambivalent truth-seeking (37.33±5.12), positive open mindedness (42.05±5.22), positive analyticity (44.43±7.71), positive systematicity (41.43±6.4), positive self-confidence (44.19±5.92), positive inquisitiveness (46.13±5.7), and positive maturity of judgment (42.35±4.97) on critical thinking dispositions. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the CCTST was excellent (.96) and acceptable (.79) for CCTDI. No significant correlation was found between BOC score and CCTST total score (r=.116, p=.412). No significant correlation was found between CCTST total score and GRE verbal reasoning score (r=.039, p=.836), GRE quantitative score (r=.203, p=.348), or GRE analytical writing score (r=-.070, p=.682). No significant correlation was found between undergraduate GPA and CCTDI total score ( r=.056, p=.663), nor between CCTST total score and CCTDI total score (r=.221, p=.082). Stepwise regression indicated age was a significant predictor of CCTST total score (R2=.396, F=13.755,df=1,21, p=.001) and involvement of clinical instructor in education and length of program were significant predictors of CCTDI total score (R2=.362, F=5.958,df=2,21, p=.009). Results indicate there is room for improvement in both critical thinking skills and dispositions of PPATP.