Finnish undergrads outperform their US counterparts in critical thinking skills upon entry to higher education

Finnish undergraduates enter teaching with better critical thinking and argumentation skills than their American counterparts. In both countries, students completing undergraduate studies demonstrate significantly better critical thinking skills than entering students, and by the time students complete undergraduate studies, no statistically significant differences were found between countries.

In other words, the average learning gains in critical thinking were greater among American students than among Finnish students. The differences observed between countries cannot be explained by contextual factors, such as the socio-economic status of students.

Conducted in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Jyväskylä and the US-based Council for Aid to Education, the study compared the critical thinking and argumentation skills of undergraduates in Finland and the US.

In Finland, the study involved around 2,500 students and around 50,000 in the United States. The American institutions selected for the study were comparable to Finnish higher education institutions. The article is published in the Journal of applied research in higher education.

Critical thinking skills should be addressed from the earliest stages of education.

The study offers a valuable perspective on the societal debate regarding the role and impact of universities. The results suggest that higher education promotes critical thinking and that learning outcomes vary between the two countries. This raises questions about the teaching approaches and learning environments used in both countries, and how these support the development of students’ thinking.

A possible explanation for the skills gap identified between Finnish and American students is that students completing their undergraduate studies in the United States were mostly in their fourth year of study, whereas Finnish students were mostly in their third year.

“In any case, data shows that almost 60% of Finnish undergraduates have critical thinking skills that can be described as satisfactory at best, while around 40% have good critical thinking skills. The main factors explaining differences in the skill levels of Finnish students are related to educational and socio-economic background,” explains Professor Heidi Hyytinen.

According to her, critical thinking skills should be addressed from the earliest stages of education, and the development of these skills should be systematically supported throughout higher education.