Investigating Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attitudes toward Critical Thinking Principles across Gender and Teaching Experience

Teachers are world makers. They can alter the mindset, attitudes, and lives of their students. Thus, it is essential to study the factors that foster teachers’ competency. Critical thinking (CT) is among the factors influencing the effectiveness of teachers. In line with this argument, the present study delved into Iranian novice and experienced EFL teachers’ perceptions of the real application of CT in instructional curricula across gender. To do so, this study employed a survey-based design. First, in order to ensure that the instruments and procedures were reliable, the researchers conducted a pilot test. During the main study, a total of 100 EFL female and male instructors from English language private institutes participated in this study whose teaching experiences ranged from 1 to 28 years. Data collection tools encompassed a researcher-designed CT questionnaire consisting of 20 items. The result of an independent-samples t-test demonstrated that no difference was observed between experienced EFL instructors’ views concerning CT and those of less experienced ones. Moreover, the outcomes revealed that no difference was observed between male and female EFL instructors’ views concerning CT. All the participants believed that CT principles are sometimes applied in the syllabi and curricula. The implications for curriculum design are presented.