Critical thinking has been more than just a part of academic rhetoric and educational practice for some time now. In the rapidly changing world of information flow, critical thinking is often identified as the goal of higher education, and in the modern labour market, the importance of critical thinking to an organisation’s success is emphasised. Critical thinking is recognised as one of the tools for the formation and development of human and social capital. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence about the manifestation in the labour market of the critical thinking developed at institutions of higher education. This article seeks to reveal the attitude toward the importance of critical thinking in the modern labour market and toward the responsibility for developing it from the perspective of different stakeholder groups (lecturers, students, employers and employees) (the case of Lithuania). Quantitative research methodology was chosen, using a questionnaire for data collection. It was found that in both higher education and the labour market, critical thinking is treated as a developed and dynamic competence that encompasses both cognitive skills and dispositions. All of the stakeholder groups consider inference and argumentation to be the most important critical thinking skills in the modern labour market. Critical thinking dispositions such as self-confidence and fairness are the most valued. All of the stakeholder groups delegate responsibility for the development of critical thinking to the individual. In evaluating critical thinking, no divide was established between the higher education and labour market segments. The most differences in attitudes emerged in evaluating the assumption of responsibility for the development of critical thinking.

This manuscript deals with the problematic question of how students’ critical reflection is manifested when reflecting on their experiences of learning critical thinking in higher education. Critical reflection is understood as the fusion of personal experience with new knowledge and study content, leading to a new understanding and a new sense of the meaning of oneself, one’s learning, studies, and phenomena in the wider environment. A qualitative research method was chosen to reveal the extent of critical reflection. Sixteen students participated in the research: aged 19–49 at the time of the research, from six higher education institutions, representing eight fields of study. A semi-structured interview was chosen for the research and the qualitative content analysis method for the research data analysis, allowing for valid conclusions upon an objective and systematic review of the transcribed interview text. The findings show that in reflections on the critical thinking teaching and learning experiences, students emphasize the process of interaction with others and interaction with themselves, focusing not on the external object but rather on the subject—the thinking person—and their relation to their own thinking. In reflection on teaching and learning, students emphasize applying theoretical knowledge in practice, modelled by the teacher.

Knowledge management and critical thinking are two broad and important phenomena for contemporary society. Their concepts are both well-discussed in the literature. However, the existing conceptual links between them have not been analyzed, and the role of critical thinking in the process of effective knowledge management has not been revealed. This article aims to fill this gap by presenting the conceptual connections between knowledge management and critical thinking. In order to reveal the inner structure of each concept and identify the conceptual connections, a critical review was conducted. The results showed the links between the concepts of knowledge management and critical thinking within three dimensions: relationships, process, and goals. In conclusion, each dimension is presented and described, with a special focus on the unexpected and deep intersections revealed between the two concepts on a personal, interpersonal, and societal level. This research may be regarded as providing the basis for further analysis of the links between these two phenomena. Increased awareness of the existence of critical thinking in knowledge management can forge new directions in organizational strategies and staff training programs.

The fragmentation and narrowness of research on critical thinking in the labour market and the lack of critical thinking analysis in the context of the interplay between lifelong learning, education and the labour market presuppose the relevance of this article. The article analyses the views of employers and employees, highlighting their attitude toward the importance and manifestation of critical thinking in the labour market and the need for improving critical thinking competency. The article aims to answer the following problematic questions: (1) How important are critical thinking skills and dispositions in the labour market? (2) How do employers’ and employees’ opinions vary regarding critical thinking in professional activities? (3) What need is there to improve critical thinking skills and dispositions? Quantitative research methodology was chosen for data collection using a questionnaire. It was found that both employers and employees consider inference and argumentation to be the most important critical thinking skills in the modern labour market; however, their attitude toward self-regulation, which is highly regarded by employees, but not by employers, is fundamentally different. Both employers and employees understand the importance of dispositions and value them similarly. Both groups have the least regard for having scepticism. The assessment of critical thinking skills and dispositions in specific professional activities differs from the assessment in the labour market in general. In professional activities, substantiated decisions, flexibility and unbiased decisions are especially valued by both groups, and the skills listed as being in most need of improvement are the same ones that were given as being important. The attitudes of both groups were distinguished by assigning value to dispositions that need improvement. Employees are more likely than employers to work on dispositions that denote operational autonomy. The study also revealed correlations between various groups of critical thinking skills and dispositions, demonstrating both employers’ and employees’ deliberate choice in assessing one or other constituent of critical thinking competence and the perception of their interrelationships.

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The article discusses the construction of the critical thinking concept in higher education and its change in scientific publications between 1993 and 2017. Based on a systematic literature review, the following research questions are raised: how does construction of critical thinking concept change in the context of higher education during time? How are personal, interpersonal, and social aspects expressed in the concept of critical thinking in the context of higher education? The systematic literature review revealed significant grow of publications starting from 1998. It is also disclosed slight change in treating critical thinking as purely general or domain-specific competence. The authors of the researched articles do not make clear division between critical thinking as a general and as a domain-specific competence. Researchers in different fields tend to associate critical thinking with the development of a person’s cognitive and intellectual capacities, including skills and attitudes. However, some authors reveal also interpersonal and social aspects of critical thinking. Alas, there are not so many publications in favour of such comprehensive approach. But there is still some hope that critical thinking will be treated and nurtured as personal, interpersonal and social competence.