On the Horizon: the Promise and Power of Higher Order, Critical, and Critical Analytical Thinking

The information flood—ever present in today’s society—requires students, teachers, and the general public to think at a higher level, critically and analytically. However, higher order, critical, and critical analytic thinking lack practical and precise definitions, and therefore, researchers and practitioners have adopted disparate characterizations of these constructs. This special issue presents a collaboration of international scholars invested in documenting the growth and development of human thinking and reasoning through their different perspectives and disciplinary frameworks. The special issue illustrates the similarities and differences of higher order, critical, and critical analytic thinking from these varied perspectives and frameworks. The final paper integrates these perspectives to sketch a map of higher order, critical, and critical analytic thinking that researchers, educators, and policymakers can use when navigating this conceptual murkiness.