Students Perception and Experiences on the Integration of Critical Thinking into Interior Design Education

Abstract

Critical thinking has been highlighted as one of the seven soft skills for the higher education system. The interior design program is one of the higher education programs that implement these skills into curricula. Assessing students' perception and experiences is valuable for better adjustment in the pedagogical approaches to meet the needs, shortcomings, and talents of their students. It makes it possible to build critical thinking abilities in a more customised way. The critical thinking abilities are essential in the interior design process. Due to its importance, it was integrated into undergraduate interior design programs as required by the Ministry of Higher Education. However, there is very limited understanding of the effectiveness of its integration into undergraduate interior design programs. Many students seem to resist thinking critically in the design process, but they prefer giving more attention to the technical skills and aesthetic value. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the student's perception and their experience on the integration of critical thinking in interior design programs. This is a qualitative study using single case study approach. Data of this study collected through the semi-structured interview with the final semester of interior design students at the University A.   All participants were just passing the final semester during this study conducted. The data were analysed through thematic analysis using the Atlas.ti software version 23. The findings of this study revealed three themes represent the student’s perception and their experience on the critical thinking integration into interior design education. First theme is the perception of the integration of critical thinking into interior design education, ii) their experience of the way critical thinking is integrated into the interior design process, and iii) challenges faced by them during the practising of critical thinking. This study proposed an initiative to be carried out to improve the development of critical thinking among interior design students. Future studies may examine the connection between creativity and critical thinking in interior design. It could look at how these two factors work well together or against one another during the design process.