# The comprehensive influence of critical thinking disposition and problem-solving ability on the labor literacy of adolescents

## TL;DR

This study shows that critical thinking and problem-solving skills in teens are linked to better labor literacy, with problem-solving acting as a key mediator.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is identifying problem-solving ability as a mediator between critical thinking and labor literacy in adolescents.

## Key findings

- Critical thinking disposition directly influences labor literacy with a 66.42% effect size.
- Problem-solving ability mediates the relationship between critical thinking and labor literacy with a 33.58% effect size.
- Gender differences exist in critical thinking and labor literacy, but not in place of residence.

## Abstract

This study investigated the correlation between critical thinking disposition and labor literacy among Chinese adolescents and examined the mediating role of problem-solving ability. These findings aim to emphasize the importance of education in cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving skills among adolescents, improving the literacy of students’ labor and promoting their overall development.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2,268 junior and senior high school students, including the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory Test (CCTDI) (Revised Edition in China), the Problem-solving Evaluation Questionnaire (Revised Edition), and the Labor Literacy Assessment Questionnaire for Middle School Students.

(1) There are significant gender differences in the critical thinking disposition and labor literacy of teenagers (p < 0.05), while there are no significant differences in terms of place of residence (p > 0.05). There are significant differences in problem-solving ability and labor literacy between junior high school and senior high school stages (p < 0.05). (2) The critical thinking disposition, problem-solving ability, and labor literacy are positively correlated with each other in pairs. (3) The direct effect of the critical thinking disposition of teenagers on labor literacy is significant, with an effect size of 66.42%; the mediating effect of problem-solving ability on the relationship between critical thinking disposition and labor literacy is significant, with an effect size of 33.58%.

This study confirms that the critical thinking disposition of teenagers not only directly positively influence their labor literacy, but also play a crucial mediating role by enhancing problem-solving abilities. This finding reveals the core mechanism of labor literacy cultivation: Labor education should aim to cultivate “thinking workers” - individuals who can actively analyze, judge, and innovatively solve complex real-world problems by applying critical thinking. Therefore, educational practice needs to systematically design labor tasks that integrate real problem scenarios, so as to simultaneously promote the coordinated development of critical thinking and labor literacy during the process of training students’ problem-solving abilities, thereby providing empirical evidence and implementation paths for building a high-quality labor education system in the new era.