Survey on the influential demographic factors of Chinese undergraduate students' critical thinking disposition: Evidence from plausible values

Critical thinking disposition (CTD), the facet of critical thinking, regarded as the basis to activate critical thinking skills, is the inclination to think critically. Previous studies on the factors influencing CTD in undergraduate students yielded inconsistent results, often examining these factors based on raw scores without considering plausible values (PVs) which can unbiasedly provide estimates that are closer to the truth. This study aims to explore the factors (e.g., gender, year of study, major, parents' educational level, family income, residence, and type of university) that potentially influence undergraduate students' CTD using PVs. This study involved 661 Chinese undergraduate students (female students represented 50.4%), utilizing the Employ-er-Employee-Supported Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory for data collection. After calcu-lating PVs using item response theory, linear regression models through dummy variable regression on the PVs were conducted. The findings revealed that when the factors were exam-ined individually, CTD may vary by type of university, year of study, parents' educational level, and family income. However, when the factors were integrated into a comprehensive robust regression model, family income was identified as the unique factor influencing CTD, indicating that individuals from higher-income families exhibited higher CTD levels than students from lower-income families. Demographic factors accounted for 5%-10% of the variation. Future research should investigate additional factors that may substantially impact on college students' CTD. It is crucial for educators to acknowledge the disparities in CTD prevalence based on family income and devise an effective way to promote CTD among individuals from low-income backgrounds.