Role-Play-Based Science Learning: Its Impact on the Thinking Skills of Children Aged 5–6 Years

Science learning during the preschool years plays an important role in fostering scientific thinking and developing children's higher-order thinking skills. Role-playing activities provide authentic learning experiences that are closely connected to children's everyday lives while promoting observation, exploration, and reflection. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of role-play-based science learning in improving critical and creative thinking skills among children aged 5–6 years and to analyze the influence of initial thinking abilities on learning outcomes. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design involving 20 kindergarten children who were equally assigned to experimental and control groups. Data were collected using the Early Childhood Thinking Skills Inventory and analyzed through Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). The findings revealed significant differences between the experimental and control groups, indicating that role-play-based science learning effectively enhanced children's critical and creative thinking skills. Further analysis showed that pretest critical thinking significantly influenced posttest outcomes, whereas pretest creative thinking did not have a significant effect. These findings suggest that role-play-based science learning is an effective approach for developing higher-order thinking skills through active, reflective, and collaborative learning experiences that align with the developmental characteristics of young children while strengthening the foundation of scientific thinking from an early age.