Creative and Critical Thinking Styles of Secondary School Students in Kuala Lumpur: Gender Differences and Implications for Sustainable Educational Practice

Abstract

Creative and critical thinking are essential cognitive capacities for students who are expected to learn, solve problems and respond to increasingly complex social, technological and environmental challenges. This study examined the thinking styles of secondary school students in selected schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and investigated whether thinking-style scores and categorical thinking styles differed by gender. A quantitative, non-experimental survey design was employed. The sample consisted of 384 students from six selected secondary schools. Students’ thinking styles were measured using the YCREATIVE-CRITICALS Thinking Style Test, which classifies respondents into superior creative, creative, balanced, critical and superior critical thinking styles. The results showed that balanced thinking was the most common category (n = 172, 44.79%), followed by critical thinking (n = 129, 33.59%) and creative thinking (n = 83, 21.61%); none of the respondents were classified as superior creative or superior critical thinkers. Male students recorded a higher mean thinking-style score (M = 5.16, SD = 0.73) than female students (M = 4.96, SD = 0.75), and the difference was statistically significant, t(382) = 2.62, p = 0.009. A Pearson chi-square test also indicated a significant association between gender and categorical thinking style, χ²(2, N = 384) = 7.712, p = 0.021. Female students had a higher proportion of creative thinkers, whereas male students had a higher proportion of critical thinkers. The findings indicate that thinking-style scores differed by gender and that categorical thinking style was associated with gender in this sample. The findings have implications for educational and sustainability practice because creative, balanced and critical thinking can support responsible problem solving and decision making in complex contexts.