Critical Thinking Among University Students in The Digital and Artificial Intelligence Era: A Systematic Literature Review
TL;DR
The findings indicate that research on students’ critical thinking is dominated by quantitative approaches focusing on psychological and pedagogical factors, while pedagogical strategies effectively improve critical thinking skills.
Abstract
Critical thinking has become an essential competency for university students in responding to the transformation of higher education in the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) era. This study aims to synthesize empirical findings on students’ critical thinking skills using a systematic literature review (SLR) approach. The study employed PRISMA guidelines and collected data from Google Scholar publications between 2021 and 2026, resulting in 18 empirical articles that met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that research on students’ critical thinking is dominated by quantitative approaches focusing on psychological and pedagogical factors. Psychological factors such as self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, and reflective thinking significantly influence students’ critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, pedagogical strategies such as Problem-Based Learning, collaborative learning, WebQuest, and digital learning effectively improve critical thinking skills. Furthermore, the development of AI has expanded the concept of critical thinking into the ability to evaluate digital information critically, reflectively, and adaptively.