A. Diržytė, V. Indrašienė, V. Jegelevičienė, O. Merfeldaitė, D. Penkauskienė, J. Pivorienė, A. Railienė & J. Sadauskas

The Role of Perceived Importance of Critical Thinking Skills and Self-reported Critical Thinking Skills for Work Engagement

The Role of Perceived Importance of Critical Thinking Skills and Self-Reported Critical Thinking Skills for Work Engagement

Aistė Diržytė, Valdonė Indrašienė, Violeta Jegelevičienė, Odeta Merfeldaitė, Daiva Penkauskienė, Jolanta Pivorienė, Asta Railienė & Justinas Sadauskas

Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania

Abstract

Research question: How are the perceived importance of CT skills and self-reported CT skills associated with work engagement?

Background. Numerous studies have revealed that CT and work engagement are interlinked concepts important for an organisation success. CT can foster employees’ engagement and motivation and, vice versa, high work engagement can promote CT.  However, it is not clear whether employees with higher levels of CT skills are likely to exhibit greater work engagement. The role of self-reported CT skills as a mediator in the link between the perceived importance of CT skills and work engagement is under-researched.

The purpose of this study was to explore the links between the perceived importance of CT skills, self-reported CT skills, and work engagement.

Methodology. The study applied a cross-sectional design, and the sample consisted of 2012 employees; the mean age was 41.93 (SD=11.42). To analyse the links between the constructs, three instruments were used: The Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Perceived Importance of the CT Skills Scale (PICTS), and the Self-Reported CT Skills Scale (CTS). For the statistical analyses, SPSS v.26.0, AMOS v.26.0, JASP v.18 and JAMOVI v.2.2.1 were applied. CFA showed the acceptable model fit and validity of the scales in the Lithuanian population.

Results and conclusion. The structural equation modelling (SEM) results revealed the complex model of the links between the perceived importance of CT skills, self-reported CT skills, and the elements of work engagement, namely, vigour, dedication, and absorption. Several self-reported CT skills (decision-making, interpretation, analysis, and argumentation) statistically significantly mediated the links between the perceived importance of CT skills and the elements of work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption). However, no significant mediation effects were found between the perceived importance of CT skills, some self-reported CT skills (e.g., formulation, evaluation), and work engagement.

Keywords: Critical thinking (CT), labour market, employees, work engagement.

Biographies

Aistė Diržytė is a professor at the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University. Research interests include psychological well-being, thriving at work, e-learning. E-mail: . 

Valdonė Indrašienė is a professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University.  Research interests include social pedagogical facilitation, educational technologies, social research, critical thinking, didactic activities in pedagogy, pre-service and in-service teacher training. E-mail: .

Violeta Jegelevičienė is a professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University. Research interests include methodology of quantitative research, learning motivation, critical thinking, pre-service and in-service teacher training. E-mail: .

Odeta Merfeldaitė is a professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University. Research interests include educational support, development of interinstitutional support team, critical thinking, pre-service and in-service teacher training.  E-mail: . 

Daiva Penkauskienė is an associate professor at the Institute of Education Science and Social

Work at Mykolas Romeris University. Critical thinking and development of critical thinking is one

of her main research areas. Together with her colleagues, she has prepared and published over 20

articles, methodological and learning tools, books on this topic. One of the most recent is the

monograph Critical Thinking in Higher Education and Labour Market, published by Peter Lang. E-mail: .

Jolanta Pivorienė is a professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University. Research interests include global education, education of sustainable development, social changes. E-mail: . 

Asta Railienė is a professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University. Research interests include career education and management, educational support, education of critical thinking, pre-service and in-service teacher training. E-mail: . 

Justinas Sadauskas is an associate professor at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Mykolas Romeris University, senior researcher.  Research interests include ethics of social work, competence development, critical thinking, university studies. E-mail: .