CRITICAL THINKING AS A FUNDAMENTAL TOOL IN CONTEMPORARY HIGHER EDUCATION: CONCEPTUALIZATION, CHARACTERISTICS, IMPORTANCE AND DIMENSIONS

This study, framed within the interpretive paradigm and a qualitative approach, conducts a documentary review and hermeneutic analysis in three movements (preunderstanding, interpretive analysis, and critical synthesis). Sources were selected for theoretical relevance and didactic pertinence; units of analysis included definitions of critical thinking (CT), lists of skills and dispositions, tensions between generality and specificity, and curricular proposals. The analysis prioritized conceptual consistency and pedagogical utility, recording traceable paraphrases and quotations. Findings show that CT is a cognitive and ethical process that organizes, evaluates, and relates information to guide warranted judgments. Its formative purpose requires evidence, cross-checking of sources, systematic observation, and, where appropriate, scientific method. CT yields personal benefits (autonomy, coherence between values and decisions), professional outcomes (strategic vision, innovation), and social gains (verification against misinformation). Core traits include objectivity, rigorous observation, analysis, sustained inquiry, and continuous reflection as an intellectual habit. Structurally, CT integrates three interdependent dimensions: skills (interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation), dispositions (perseverance, humility, empathy, curiosity, and autonomy), and knowledge (general information, disciplinary expertise, and experience). This triad enables responsible decision-making, problem solving, and informed public participation, and it guides integral, effective criteria for teaching and assessment.