Comparison of the relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement among physical education students and students in other fields of study in Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan

The present study compared the relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement among physical education students and students in other fields of study in Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan. This was a cross sectional study with a randomly stratified sampling method. Available population was all 293 undergraduate students in Bu Ali Sina University. The number of participants was determined using Morgan’s table and included 78 physical education students and 217 non-physical education students in Bu Ali Sina University. The standard California Critical Thinking Skills Test (1994, Cronbach's alpha reliability %85) was used to measure critical thinking skills. The achievement of academic record was assessed using the Grade Point Average of students (GPA). Descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov Smirnov, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients, and Student T-test were used to analyze data. Results showed that %72.7 of students had weak critical thinking skills. There was no significant difference between critical thinking skills among physical education students and students in other fields of study (p > 0.05). The results of T-test further showed that the only difference among critical thinking skills of physical education students and students in other fields was related to the deductive reasoning component. In addition, the relationship between critical thinking skills and academic achievement was not significant either in physical education students (r=0.10, p=0.47), or students in other fields (non physical education) (p =. 3). In conclusion, current education and training methods weren’t able to increase the level of critical thinking either in non-physical education students or physical education students. Using modern teaching methods and active learning strategies is warranted.