Exploring the impact of family cultural capital on undergraduates’ critical thinking: the mediating role of EFL teachers’ feedback literacy

In southwestern China, where educational resources are relatively scarce and cultural traditions emphasize students’ exam performance and teachers’ authority, developing critical thinking poses a particular challenge. The research assessed the influence of family cultural capital and EFL teachers’ feedback literacy on undergraduates’ critical thinking. It also investigated the potential mediating role of students’ perception of EFL teachers’ feedback literacy. A total of 1438 undergraduates’ data were gathered from a southwestern university in China. The findings indicate that both family cultural capital and EFL teachers’ feedback literacy positively contribute to undergraduates’ critical thinking. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of their teachers’ feedback literacy function as a mediating variable. The study supports Bourdieu’s theory by showing that family cultural capital affects cognitive abilities through intellectual resources and parental involvement, and confirms the importance of EFL teachers’ feedback literacy in fostering critical thinking among students. These results suggest incorporating feedback literacy into teacher education and considering family cultural capital in educational policy to nurture critical thinking among different student groups.