Finnish undergraduate students enter education with stronger critical thinking and argumentation skills than their US counterparts. In both countries, students finishing undergraduate education demonstrate significantly better critical thinking skills than students entering education, and by the time students finish undergraduate education, no statistically significant difference between the countries was found.
In other words, the average learning gains in critical thinking skills were greater among US students than Finnish students. The observed differences between the countries cannot be explained by background factors, such as students’ socioeconomic status.
Conducted in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Jyväskylä and the US-based Council for Aid to Education, the study compared undergraduate students’ critical thinking and argumentation skills in Finland and the United States. In Finland, the study involved approximately 2,500 students, and around 50,000 in the United States. The US institutions selected for the study were comparable to Finnish higher education institutions.
Critical thinking skills should be addressed already at earlier stages of education
The study offers a valuable perspective on the societal debate concerning the role and impact of universities. The results suggest that higher education fosters critical thinking and that learning gains vary between the two countries. This raises questions about the pedagogical approaches and learning environments used in the two countries, and how these support the development of students’ thinking.
One possible explanation for the skill gap identified between Finnish and US students is that students finishing undergraduate education in the US were mostly in their fourth year of study, whereas Finnish students were largely in their third year.
“In any case, the data show that nearly 60 per cent of Finnish undergraduate students have critical thinking skills that can be described as satisfactory at best, while around 40 per cent have good skills in critical thinking. The key factors explaining differences in Finnish students’ skill levels are related to educational and socioeconomic background,” says Heidi Hyytinen, Professor of University Pedagogy at the University of Eastern Finland.
According to her, critical thinking skills should be addressed already at earlier stages of education, and the development of these skills should be systematically supported throughout higher education.
The study constitutes part of the Assessment of Undergraduate Students’ Generic Skills in Finland projects (KAPPAS1 & KAPPAS2), funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Professor Hyytinen’s research group has collaborated with the project on competence-based critical thinking, argumentation and communication skills for approximately 15 years. The final seminar of the KAPPAS2 project will be held in spring 2026, by which time more will be known about how critical thinking skills are associated with study progress and academic success, and how these skills develop within Finnish higher education.
Research article:
Zahner, D., Hyytinen, H., Nissinen, K., Silvennoinen, K., & Ursin, J. (2025). Investigating learning gains of critical thinking and communication skills among Finnish and American higher education students. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Early online. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-05-2025-0420
For further information, please contact:
Professor Heidi Hyytinen, University of Eastern Finland, [email protected]
Chief Academic Officer, Doris Zahner, Council for Aid to Education, New York, USA, [email protected]
Senior Researcher Jani Ursin, University of Jyväskylä, [email protected]
Website of the Assessment of Undergraduate Students’ Learning Outcomes in Finland
project, KAPPAS
