The relationships between self-directed learning, critical thinking, and psychological type, and some implications for teaching in higher education

ABSTRACT

The ability to think critically and the willingness and capacity to engage in self-directed learning are considered important prerequisites for lifelong education. Research on self-directed learning and critical thinking, to date, has largely ignored individual differences among learners. This study explored the extent to which students' willingness and perceived capacity to engage in self-directed learning, and their ability to think critically, could be explained by their psychological type. The results indicated that extraverted intuition is a strong predictor for students' inclination to engage in self-directed learning. Psychological type did not appear to be a predictor for critical thinking ability. However, significant relationships were found between self-directed learning and critical thinking. It is argued in this article that educators can foster competence in self-directed learning by providing opportunities for students to develop both their intuition and logical reasoning skills. It is suggested that Kolb's dialectic model of experiential learning offers a framework which explains how both types of skill can be fostered in higher education.