The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Emily Shannon Hughes

for the degree of Doctor of Education

October 30, 2017 at 1:00 pm in Browning Hall

Major Advisor: Donna Menke, PhD

CRITICAL AND HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION TO PHYSICAL THERAPIST EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A MODIFIED E-DELPHI STUDY

ABSTRACT: Physical therapy has changed from its humble beginnings as informal classes for reconstruction aides (RAs) educated in gymnasiums to the professional education programs for students graduating with an entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy. The occupation, now a profession, complete with autonomy, direct access and great responsibility for decision-making for those we care for has changed; however, the need for physical therapists to care for those with physical disabilities has not changed. In order for physical therapists to manage care, responsibility, and autonomy in the ever-changing economic and healthcare environment, physical therapist education programs need, as part of the admission process, some standardization to help them select the best and students who have the potential to succeed academically as well as pass the national licensure examination. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine which critical thinking skills and higher order constructs would be essential to assess on an admission examination for entrance into physical therapist education programs. A modified E-Delphi was used to answer this question by surveying a group of experts determined by the criteria of being a licensed physical therapist who have been published for their research on critical thinking and higher order thinking as well as program directors of physical therapist education programs. The critical thinking skills of clarifying meaning, assessing claims, assessing arguments, stating results, self-examination, and self-correction and the higher order thinking constructs of critical thinking and logical thinking emerged as the consensus items to be assessed in a discipline-specific examination prior to entrance into a physical therapist education program.