Background. Relevance of the problem of developing critical thinking in modern education is due to the need to prepare a person who is able to adapt to the conditions of a rapidly changing world and work effectively with a large information flow. Critical thinking is a key skill that allows you to achieve such educational results as the ability to analyze information, make independent judgments, solve problems, collaborate, and build constructive relationships.
Objective. To carry out a theoretical analysis of the problem in order to study the already identified possibilities of using pedagogical text analysis to develop critical thinking of a student-teacher. To determine the features of using pedagogical texts to develop critical thinking of student-teachers in the practice of teaching psychological and pedagogical disciplines at a university.
Methods. A questionnaire was conducted during the work. The percentage ratio method and content analysis were used to process the questionnaires.
Sample. 156 people participated in the study: 2nd-3rd year bachelor’s students in the fields of Psychology of Education, Psychological and Pedagogical Education; 1–2 years of the Master’s degree program “Methodological Support in Preschool Education” of the Institute of Childhood, the program “Development of Personal Potential in Education” of the Institute of Psychology of the Herzen University of St. Petersburg.
Results. The analysis of a number of scientific studies has shown that in adults, spontaneous formation of critical thinking and cognitive flexibility practically does not occur even in the process of accumulating professional experience. To develop these qualities, it is necessary to purposefully use special methods and techniques that contribute to the formation of students’ skills of reflection, critical analysis of situations, comparison of different points of view, as well as the ability to perceive and evaluate the surrounding reality from different positions, going beyond their own experience. The conducted study revealed a deficit in the use of pedagogical texts aimed at developing critical thinking in student teachers, as well as the limited number of tasks that contribute to its formation within the framework of mastering psychological and pedagogical disciplines in a pedagogical university. This indicates the need to enrich the programs of psychological and pedagogical disciplines with a larger number or variants of tasks that will effectively develop critical thinking in future teachers.
Conclusions. The higher education system is designed to develop critical thinking, guide student-teachers to master creative ways of solving life problems, self-education and self-development. In order to form critical thinking in students of higher educational institutions when studying various disciplines, it is necessary to systematically use pedagogical texts that present various author’s versions of traditional truths, professional attitudes and values.