Moroccan CPGE Students’ Critical Thinking Skills and Learning Approaches: The Case of Moulay Ismail CPGE Classes

Abstract

Critical thinking is one of the core soft skills required and highly appreciated to integrate into the job market. Moroccan preparatory classes (henceforth CPGE) are considered one of the educational institutions that aim to train future managers and engineers by boosting students’ cognitive abilities, notably critical thinking. However, an appropriate approach to learning is necessary for efficient critical thinking-based instruction; effective development of students learning approach certainly can contribute to the development of students’ cognitive abilities. Accordingly, this study aims at examining learning approaches and critical thinking skills levels from the CPGE teachers’ and students’ perspectives. It also tries to investigate the relationship between CPGE students’ critical thinking skills level and their use of different approaches to learning. Finally, the study considers some techniques and methods used by CPGE teachers to improve students’ learning approaches and, by extension, their critical thinking skills level. The study includes 60 students studying at Moulay Ismail CPGE Center, Meknes, and 32 teachers from different Moroccan CPGE centers. The concept of triangulation is used in this paper to cross-examine the findings and increase their reliability and credibility. The results yield that CPGE students learning approaches and critical thinking are mediocre; as for the relationship between the two variables, the analysis of the findings revealed a positive significant correlation between critical thinking learning and a deep approach to learning; the more CPGE students tend to rely on deep approaches to learning, the more they manage to improve their level of critical thinking skills.