Mapping the Landscape of Critical Thinking Skills in Higher Education in the AI Era: A Bibliometric and Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed higher education, creating new demands for the cultivation of critical thinking skills in academic settings. This study combines bibliometric mapping and a systematic literature review to explore the publication landscape and examine how critical thinking is conceptualized and developed in AI-integrated higher education. Metadata were retrieved from the Scopus database on December 24, 2024, yielding 90 documents, with 22 selected for full-text analysis. The study findings reveal several influential authors, relevant journal sources, affiliations, key themes central to current studies, and potential themes for future research. The systematic review reveals a fragmented research landscape with limited theoretical consistency in defining critical thinking. Some studies refer to established frameworks such as Bloom's revised Taxonomy and Paul and Elder's intellectual standards, while others use the term “critical thinking” without a clear conceptual foundation. The review identifies key challenges, including overreliance on AI, diminished reflective engagement, and ethical issues such as academic dishonesty and misinformation. However, AI also presents notable opportunities for supporting critical thinking through adaptive feedback, personalized learning, collaborative reasoning, and immersive simulations. Various pedagogical strategies are proposed, including AI-integrated assessments, scaffolded feedback, ethics instruction, and AI literacy training, which aim to strengthen both cognitive processes and intellectual dispositions. These findings underscore the importance of intentional pedagogical design and stronger theoretical integration to ensure that AI enhances rather than undermines critical thinking. This study offers actionable insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers seeking to leverage AI in ways that uphold the integrity and depth of human reasoning.