The Phenomenology of Experiencing Critical Thinking in Vocational Higher Education

This study investigated the role of critical thinking in vocational education within the Virginia Community College System by examining the lived experience of administrators, faculty, and students who are associated with vocational education. To complete this task, the researcher employed a phenomenological methodology primarily based on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and other phenomenological philosophers including Edmund Husserl, Mark D. Vagle, and Karin Dahlberg. The goal of the research was to serve as a beginning and help close the gap in knowledge concerning how critical thinking is defined in vocational education, why it is seen as an important part of vocational instruction, and what instructional philosophies are being used to teach critical thinking. Through the use of semi-structured interviews and course observations, the study explored the lived experience of participants as they engaged with the intersection of critical thinking pedagogy and vocational education. The findings revealed six major themes which included general definitions of critical thinking cited by participants, critical thinking defined as a set of skills, commonly cited critical thinking instructional models, the conceptual versus applied dilemma in vocational education, concerns over the new generation of student, and the specter of artificial intelligence. Four significant conclusions were inferred from the data. These included the frequent occurrence of participants associating critical thinking with vocational soft skills, the necessity for community college educators to accept the new generation of students, the value of experiencing vocational education as an academic philosopher, and the imperative to improve critical thinking instruction in vocational education. Ultimately, the researcher advocated for stronger dialogue between critical thinking scholars and vocational educators and expressed the importance of including critical thinking instruction as a fundamental part of vocational education course objectives.