Relationship between critical thinking obstacles and reading motivation of Turkish teacher candidates

Critical thinking is an important cognitive skill that enables individuals to approach information with a questioning perspective. However, individuals encountering various cognitive and affective barriers in their critical thinking processes can hinder the effective use of this skill. Similarly, individuals' reading motivation is also influenced by different psychological and environmental factors. In this context, the study aims to examine the relationship between Turkish teacher candidates' critical thinking barriers and their reading motivation. In the study, a quantitative research method, specifically a single and correlational survey model, was used to determine the relationship between Turkish teacher candidates' critical thinking barriers and their reading motivation. The study group consisted of 293 Turkish teacher candidates studying at two different state universities in the 2024-2025 academic year. The data collection tools used in the study were the 'Critical Thinking Barriers Scale' developed by Semerci, Semerci, Ünal, Yılmaz and Yılmaz (2019) and the 'Adult Reading Motivation Scale' developed by Schutte and Malouff (2007) and adapted into Turkish by Yıldız, Yıldırım, Ateş and Çetinkaya (2013). Data were collected via Google Forms. Correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the scales in line with the study's objective, and data analysis was conducted using the SPSS programme. The research findings indicate that prospective Turkish language teachers' barriers to critical thinking are at a 'low level,' do not differ significantly based on gender or the class they are studying in, but do differ significantly based on the number of books they have read. Furthermore, it was found that Turkish teacher candidates' reading motivation was at a 'high level' and differed significantly according to gender and the number of books they read, but did not differ significantly according to the class they were studying in. The study concluded that there was no statistically significant relationship between Turkish teacher candidates' critical thinking barriers and their reading motivation. Recommendations were made in light of the findings of the study.