Embedding critical thinking in contemporary academic practice

Beesley, P., Cooke, B., Morris, L., & Warwick-Booth, L. (2025). The critical thinking toolkit: Your guide to success in learning, thinking and writing at university. SAGE. ISBN 9781529683189

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi40.2076

Keywords:

critical thinking, learning development, academic skills, student learning, active learning, reflective practice, higher education

Author Biography

Jennifer Harper, The Open University

Jennifer Harper is a senior academic leader with cross-sector expertise spanning higher education, further education, and partnership provision. At The Open University, she holds a faculty-level strategic role driving institutional change, workforce capability, and inclusive, sustainable education across the UK. Her work operates at the dynamic intersection of people strategy, policy implementation, academic delivery, and student outcomes. An active researcher, Jennifer explores how leadership practices, educational policy, and technology-enabled innovation shape organisational capability and student belonging. In addition, she teaches and supervises postgraduate programmes, significantly contributing to curriculum innovation, quality assurance, and robust partnership governance in complex, transdisciplinary educational environments.

References

Davies, M. (2013). Critical thinking and the disciplines reconsidered. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(4), 529–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2012.697878

Ennis, R. H. (2011). Critical thinking: Reflection and perspective Part I. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 26(1), 4–18.

Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. American Philosophical Association.

Hyland, K. (2002). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. Longman.

Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (1998). Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach. Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079812331380364

McPeck, J. E. (1981). Critical thinking and education. Martin Robertson.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2019). The miniature guide to critical thinking: Concepts and tools (8th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Wingate, U. (2006). Doing away with ‘study skills’. Teaching in Higher Education, 11(4), 457–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510600874268

Downloads

Published

25-06-2026

How to Cite

Harper, J. (2026). Embedding critical thinking in contemporary academic practice: Beesley, P., Cooke, B., Morris, L., & Warwick-Booth, L. (2025). The critical thinking toolkit: Your guide to success in learning, thinking and writing at university. SAGE. ISBN 9781529683189. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (40). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi40.2076

Issue

No. 40 (2026)

Section

Reviews

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).