The Relationship between Critical Thinking and Academic Self-Efficacy: The Moderating Role of Self-Directed Learning

Self-directed learning is considered as one of the main components in adult learning in recent decades. This research aims to determine the moderating role of self-directed learning in the relationship between critical thinking and academic self-efficacy. The method of the current research is practical in terms of purpose and correlational in terms of data collection. The intended statistical population of male and female students were studying in Tehran or Qom during 2018-2019 academic year, and due to the Corona virus pandemic, 205 people were selected using the convenience sampling. In order to measure research variables, Ricketts (2003) critical thinking questionnaires, Cheng et al.'s (2010) self-directed learning, and McIlroy and Bunting’s (2001) academic self-efficacy were used. SPSS 23 and AMOS 24 software were used to perform equation modeling and data analysis. The research results indicated that critical thinking and academic self-efficacy had a positive and meaningful relationship with each other, so that critical thinking predicted 20% of the variance of academic self-efficacy. In people with high self-direction, the relationship between critical thinking and academic self-efficacy is significant, but in people with low self-direction, this relationship is not significant, which indicates the moderating role of self-direction in the relationship between critical thinking and self-direction.