Student Voices: What Does Critical Reading Contribute to University Education?

Abstract

The University Reading Classroom Project, designed to address the challenges of reading and writing in higher education, aims to create a hybrid space for developing critical university readers and strengthening their social and human values. This environment will encourage critical thinking and promote responsibility in knowledge construction through deliberative discursive practices and the analysis of complex texts. The project seeks not only to enhance academic competencies but also to cultivate social and human values, positioning the student as an active agent in their own educational development. The methodology is descriptive in nature, employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A questionnaire was administered to Information Sciences students of University of Havana to identify their perception of the impact of reading on their academic, professional, and personal development. Preliminary results indicated a need to integrate critical reading as a cross-cutting theme in higher education, linking cognitive skills and academic rigor with civic responsibility.

Keywords:

Critical thinking, Academic reading, Academic literacy, Higher education, University education, social values