Joko, Tri Wrahatnolo, Achmad Imam Agung, Ekohariadi, Meini Sondang Sumbawati, Teodoris Wiyanto, Ismet Basuki, Alfredo Arianto Permana Putra, Yulia Fransisca
Innovation capacity is increasingly recognized as essential in vocational teacher education, yet the mechanisms through which preservice vocational teachers develop practical innovation capability remain underexplored. This study investigates the integrated roles of critical thinking skills (CTS), problem-solving skills (PSS), and teamwork skills (TWS) in predicting practical innovation skills (PIS) among preservice vocational teachers. A sample of 190 preservice teachers from five engineering education specializations at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA), Indonesia completed validated measures assessing all four constructs during April–November 2024. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with bootstrap-tested mediation analysis. The findings reveal a theoretically coherent system in which teamwork competency exerts the strongest direct effect on practical innovation (β = 0.277, p < .001), while also indirectly enhancing innovation through critical thinking and problem-solving pathways. Critical thinking serves as the cognitive foundation connecting collaborative learning contexts to systematic problem-solving capability ( β = 0.362, p < .001 ), the strongest cognitive pathway in the model. Notably, teamwork does not directly predict problem-solving; instead, this relationship operates exclusively through critical thinking enhancement (indirect pathway significant, direct pathway nonsignificant), revealing that collaborative contexts develop problem-solving specifically by elevating intellectual rigor. The complete model explains 25% of practical innovation variance, indicating substantial contribution while acknowledging additional unmeasured influences such as creativity, motivation, and institutional support. These findings advance theoretical understanding of higher-order thinking skills by demonstrating their operation as an integrated system with distinct mediational pathways rather than as independent competencies. Practically, the results suggest that vocational teacher education programs require restructuring around three integrated principles: team-based learning as organizational architecture, explicit critical thinking development within collaborative contexts, and situated practice in systematic problem-solving. The study provides both theoretical specificity and practical actionability for developing innovation capacity in preservice vocational teacher education. Copyright (c) 2025 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
State University of Surabaya, Jalan Kampus Lidah Wetan, Surabaya, 60213, Indonesia
