تجربۀ زیستۀ دانشجویان درتفکر انتقادی و رابطه آن با سواد محیط‌زیستی

مقالۀ حاضر با هدف اصلی مطالعۀ رابطۀ بین تجربۀ زیستۀ دانشجویان در تفکر انتقادی و سواد محیط‌زیستی آنان در سال تحصیلی 1402-1403 انجام شد. روش تحقیق پژوهش حاضر به‎‌لحاظ هدف از نوع کاربردی و به‎‌لحاظ روش گردآوری داده‎‌ها، از نوع غیرآزمایشی و به‌لحاظ معیار زمان از نوع مقطعی است. جامعۀ آماری پژوهش، کلیۀ دانشجویان دانشگاه اصفهان و دانشگاه علوم پزشکی اصفهان در سال تحصیلی 1402-1403 بودند که تعداد آن‎‌ها درمجموع، 26000 نفر برآورد شد. حجم نمونه برای سطح آلفای 05/0، توان آزمون 80/0 و اندازۀ اثر قابل‎‌تشخیص در جامعۀ آماری بر مبنای نمونۀ آماری 15/0 برابر با 435 نفر به­دست آمد. به م‌نظور سنجش سواد محیط‌زیستی دانشجویان، از مقیاس استاندارد شری و تیواری (2021) استفاده شد. همچنین، سنجش تجربۀ زیستۀ تفکر انتقادی دانشجویان با استفاده از پرسش‌نامۀ ساخت و اعتباریابی‌شده توسط (کاشف و همکاران، 1404) بود. گردآوری داده‎‌ها با روش سهمیه‎‌ای انجام شد. پایایی داده‎‌ها با استفاده از ضریب آلفای کرونباخ ارزیابی شد که این ضریب برای سواد محیط‌زیستی و تجرب‌ زیستۀ تفکر انتقادی در سطح قابل‎‌قبول بود. تحلیل داده‎‌ها با استفاده از نرم‎‌افزار spss نسخۀ 26 انجام شد. براساس نتایج، تجربۀ ‎‌زیستۀ تفکر انتقادی در پایین‎‌تر از متوسط و به‌لحاظ سطح سواد محیط‌زیستی در بالاتر از متوسط برآورد شد. همچنین، نتایج، وجود ارتباط در سطح متوسط بین تجربۀ زیستۀ تفکر انتقادی و سواد محیط‌زیستی را تایید کرد.

exploring students’ lived experiences of critical thinking and their association with environmental literacy

introductionin today’s world, societies are confronting severe and complex environmental challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. in this context, the role of education—particularly higher education—has become more vital than ever. cultivation of critical thinking skills and development of environmental literacy are increasingly recognized as foundational pillars for producing responsible, reflective, and informed citizens. critical thinking enables individuals to analyze complex information, question assumptions, and make reasoned decisions, especially in situations involving uncertainty and competing interests. meanwhile, environmental literacy fosters an understanding of ecological systems, human-environment interactions, and ethical implications of environmental decisions. as centers of knowledge production and dissemination, universities bear the responsibility of fostering these competencies in their students. this study explored the intersection between students’ lived experiences in critical thinking and their environmental literacy, aiming to understand how exposure to critical educational environments shaped students’ ecological awareness and attitudes. conducted at the university of isfahan and isfahan university of medical sciences during the academic year of 2023-2024, this research addressed a critical gap by integrating culturally adapted tools to explore this relationship within the unique iranian socio-educational context.  materials & methodsthis applied, non-experimental, cross-sectional study targeted a population of approximately 26,000 students enrolled at the two aforementioned universities. a statistically valid sample of 433 participants was selected through quota sampling to ensure representation across gender, academic levels, and disciplines. data were collected using two instruments: the first was a standardized environmental literacy scale developed by sherry and tiwari (2021), which assessed two dimensions—knowledge and awareness and attitude. the second instrument was a localized and culturally validated questionnaire created by kashef et al. (2024) to measure the students’ lived experiences of critical thinking. this questionnaire encompassed 7 distinct dimensions: dignified living, organizational suppression, forward-thinking, conservative organization, multi-faceted encounters, cost-reward duality, and uncritical authority, reflecting the contextual realities specific to iranian academic environments. the reliability of the instruments was assessed using cronbach’s alpha with coefficients exceeding 0.70, indicating acceptable internal consistency. data analysis was conducted by using spss version 26 and employing both descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including pearson correlation and one-way anova, to test the research hypotheses and explore differences between the two institutions. discussion of results & conclusionthe findings indicated that the students’ lived experiences of critical thinking fell below the midpoint of the measurement scale, suggesting limited engagement with reflective, questioning, and autonomy-oriented academic environments. in contrast, environmental literacy scores were above average, indicating relatively strong levels of awareness and positive attitudes toward the environment among the student body. a moderate yet statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.372, p < 0.001) was observed between the two main variables. notably, the strongest associations were found between critical thinking experiences and the attitude component of environmental literacy rather than the knowledge component, underscoring the emotional and value-driven dimensions of environmental learning. among the critical thinking subdimensions, dignified living and uncritical authority demonstrated the highest correlations with environmental literacy.comparative analysis between the two universities revealed a significant difference in the critical thinking experience scores, with students at the university of isfahan reporting notably higher levels. however, no statistically significant difference was found in environmental literacy levels between the two groups. this might suggest that environmental awareness was influenced by broader societal or cultural factors beyond institutional environments.these results emphasized the crucial role of higher education institutions in nurturing critical thinking as a pathway to environmental awareness and responsible behavior. the findings suggested that fostering reflective thinking, autonomy, and ethical discourse in academic settings could positively influence the students’ environmental attitudes. by integrating critical thinking into environmental education curricula, universities could help produce a generation capable of informed ecological decision-making. furthermore, this study offered valuable insights for curriculum developers and policymakers aiming to embed sustainability and critical awareness within educational frameworks tailored to the iranian context.