Development of Critical Thinking Skills among Secondary School Science Students: An Analysis of Chemistry Textbook Grade IX (2020)

This study focuses on a Chemistry textbook for grade IX to determine how effective it is at fostering critical thinking skills in students. The researchers did a qualitative content analysis using NVivo 12 software, and they picked the textbook with purposive sampling. It was found that the textbook does a good job of promoting critical thinking through different strategies. It encourages inquiry and questioning, relates abstract concepts to real-life applications, prompts students to compare and contrast ideas, promotes problem-solving, talks about the history behind scientific concepts, and addresses misconceptions. At the end of every topic are "Test Yourself" sections that ask thought provoking questions meant to challenge students' analytical thinking. Relating chemical concepts to real-world situations fosters critical thinking by connecting abstract with concrete knowledge. Lastly, there are lots of examples and problems for students to work through which helps them apply what they know while developing problem-solving abilities too.