Facilitators and Deterrents of Critical Thinking in Classrooms: a Multidisciplinary Perspective in Higher Education in Karachi, Pakistan

The paper presents the perceptions of educators from nursing, medicine and education discipline about the facilitators and deterrents of critical thinking (CT) in higher education in Karachi, Pakistan. Using a qualitative descriptive exploratory design, 12 university educators from three disciplines were recruited as study participants using purposive sampling. Data was collected through semi structured interviews and manually analyzed for themes and categories. Findings related to the theme of facilitators and deterrents of CT are presented in this paper. Study participants identified a variety of key factors related to teacher competence, nature of students, learning environment, and organizational ethos and resources that influence the implementation and promotion of CT in higher education.