The development of students’ thinking skills: Perspectives from higher education instructors in Japan, Europe, and Australia

• Examined higher education instructors’ views about the thinking skills they consider important for their students to develop. • A qualitative survey was conducted of higher education instructors in Japan, Europe, and Australia. • Both similarities and differences between countries/region were found in what the instructors considered important. • Good alignment was also found between skills and learning objectives set, and between teaching and assessment practices described and thinking skills considered important. • However, it was not always clear what aspects of the skills might be facilitated by the practices. • Many of the instructors also reported some difficulties in fitting thinking skills promotion in their courses. • Findings can usefully inform efforts at facilitating greater effectiveness in promoting thinking skills development in higher education. The development of students’ thinking skills, considered indispensable in 21st Century education, relies considerably on the beliefs and teaching practices of their instructors. While a lot has been written by educational researchers on the topic of “teaching thinking”, relatively little has been reported on higher education instructors’ own views and conceptions, priorities, and practices regarding the broad set of thinking skills that they may consider important for their students to develop. In this research therefore, we attempted to address this gap by conducting a qualitative survey of higher education instructors in Japan, Europe, and Australia. Ninety-nine instructors voluntarily completed our survey. We found both similarities and differences between countries/region in what the instructors considered important. Such differences may arise from country/regional variations in educational and societal views. We also found good alignment between skills and the learning objectives the instructors reported setting, and between the teaching and assessment practices they described and the thinking skills they considered important. However, it was not always clear what aspects of the skills might be facilitated by the practices. Furthermore, many of the instructors indicated some difficulties in fitting thinking skills promotion in their courses. Insights we gain from this study can usefully inform efforts at facilitating greater effectiveness in promoting thinking skills development in higher education.