Critical pedagogy and critical thinking are two prominent concepts that share the common notion of “criticality” as a starting point, while at the same time branching off in different directions. Differences are hidden in the philosophies of these concepts, which results from the fact that the very concept of criticality is understood differently in the humanities compared to the social sciences. The comparative analysis of these two concepts perfectly illustrates the layering of the concept of criticality and its original, i.e., practical, useful effect. The aim of the theoretical part of the work is to present and critically compare the main features of two traditions: critical pedagogy and critical thinking. Therefore, the paper offers a brief historical overview of the development of both traditions, referring to their different perspectives and main definitions. Furthermore, the concept of criticality is analysed and interpretations of this concept are presented within different schools of thought, relying primarily on the pedagogue Andrew Stables (2003). The concept of criticality was explained separately through the prisms of critical thinking and critical pedagogy in order to determine their connections, as well as the reasons for their disagreement. Paul Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2002) is taken as a starting point for the analysis of critical pedagogy, and the differences and similarities in the practical application of the principles of these two traditions are explained through the prism of the tradition of general pedagogy. The empirical part of the paper presents the research conducted with pedagogy students of the Faculty of Philosophy in Split, the aim of which was to determine how pedagogy students understand the concepts of critical pedagogy and critical thinking and their relationship. The results showed that students from this research, just like students from other researches, do not know and understand the concepts of critical thinking and critical pedagogy and the relationships between them well enough, which points to the need to achieve a transforming higher education that connects the knowledge and experience of students and encourages their critical thinking and action.