Culture Contact, Adult Learners’ Critical Thinking, and Critical Thinking Use | A Sociocultural Perspective on Adult Education
Culture Contact, Adult Learners’ Critical Thinking, and Critical Thinking Use | A Sociocultural Perspective on Adult Education

Summary/Abstract: From a sociocultural perspective of cognitive development as a dynamic social activity, this qualitative study explores the experiences of students in higher education regarding culture contact. The goal is to understand how these experiences shape their cognitive abilities, with a specific focus on the development and use of critical thinking as a higher cognitive ability, as well as how they apply critical thinking skills in a different sociocultural context. Critical thinking is presented as an ability for adult international students to navigate cultural disorientations within diverse sociocultural contexts, aiming to ultimately improve their educational outcomes (Halpern, 2013). The findings reveal that students’ interactions with diverse cultures in a different sociocultural setting shape their minds, behavior, and critical thinking abilities, leading them to adopt new and different strategies to overcome diversity.

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