There are widespread expectations that critical thinking (CT) be a core learning and attribute of graduates in higher education (HE). Academic teaching staff ostensibly embed discipline specific CT in HE program and course objectives, in teaching and learning experiences including assessment, and routinely make judgements about the CT skills of students. It is curious then that routinely contested assumptions about the CT capacities of whole cohorts of students made on the bases of ethnic and sociocultural backgrounds continue to escape more rigorous scrutiny in practice in HE classrooms. We use reflections of a group of academic advisors who work with local and international students at a large university in Australia to uncover uncertainties about CT in HE and the need for more nuanced approaches to the strengths and needs of students irrespective of being members of reductive cohorts. We propose, in fact, that in order to ensure that all students have opportunities to develop CT skills and demonstrate them effectively in line with local expectations, critical attention be directed to generalised assumptions based on cultural affiliations.

人们普遍期望批判性思维（CT）将成为高等教育（HE）毕业生的核心学习和特质。学术教学人员表面上将特定学科的CT纳入HE计划和课程目标，教学和学习经验（包括评估）中，并定期评估学生的CT技能。令人好奇的是，在种族和社会文化背景的基础上，关于整个学生群体的CT能力的常规辩论假设继续在HE教室的实践中逃脱了更严格的审查。我们使用一群学术顾问的意见，他们与澳大利亚一所大型大学的本地和国际学生一起工作，以发现关于高中CT的不确定性，以及是否需要对学生的长处和需求采取更细致入微的方法，而不论他们是否属于简化班。实际上，我们建议，为了确保所有学生都有机会发展CT技能并有效地证明他们符合当地的期望，应将注意力集中在基于文化归属的普遍假设上。