Critical thinking is widely recognized as an essential competence for active participation in societies characterized by the rapid circulation of information and the challenges posed by misinformation and Generative Artificial Intelligence (Vincent-Lancrin et al., 2019; Tian & Zhang, 2025). In the context of initial teacher education, critical thinking assumes particular importance, as future teachers must be able to apply this competence in their professional practice and foster its development among younger generations, in line with the Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education (Martins et al., 2017).

Despite broad recognition of its educational and social relevance, evidence remains limited regarding how higher education pathways contribute to the development of critical thinking among future teachers and the role played by pedagogical approaches in this process (Van Damme & Zahner, 2022). In this context, the PENCRIF project seeks to understand how critical thinking is characterized and developed among students enrolled in the Bachelor’s Degree in Basic Education and professional master’s programmes at the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo. The project aims to identify areas of greater strength and weakness and to analyse their relationship with the learning experiences provided throughout the programmes.

This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining the assessment of critical thinking skills through the PENCRISAL test (Rivas et al., 2023) with the analysis of Course Unit Syllabi and Course Unit Reports. Particular attention will be given to identifying active learning strategies that foster critical thinking, as well as practices associated with the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, in order to understand how these relate to the development of students’ critical thinking skills.

The findings are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of how critical thinking can be promoted in initial teacher education and to support the development of evidence-based recommendations for curriculum design and pedagogical practices in higher education. In doing so, the study seeks to address contemporary educational challenges and strengthen the preparation of future teachers for critical and reflective professional practice.