The Role of Student Behavior in the Development of Critical Thinking at the University

Critical thinking is considered to be one of the key educational outcomes, and its development is an important goal of higher education worldwide. However, the question of whether universities contribute to the development of students’ critical thinking and the extent of this contribution remains open. The aim of this study is to examine the role of students’ behavior in the development of critical thinking during their university studies. The study utilizes data from two waves of a longitudinal study conducted in eight selective Russian universities (N = 888). The results indicate that students’ critical thinking levels increased over one year of study, although the effect size is relatively small. Moreover, none of the aspects of educational behavior contribute to an increase in critical thinking levels. On the contrary, aspects such as creating a positive self-image and extracurricular involvement are negatively associated with the development of this skill. These findings may be explained by the characteristics of the educational process in Russian universities, where passive teaching practices still dominate. Based on the obtained results, the article provides several recommendations for fostering students’ critical thinking.