RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRITICAL THINKING AND
SCIENTIFIC TEMPER AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
VISHNUPRIYA V S
M.Ed. Student
NSS. Training College Pandalam
And
Dr. N. JAYASREE
Associate Professor, M.Ed. Department
N.S.S. Training College, Pandalam
ABSTRACT
The present study aims to find out the relationship between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students. A sample of 300 students were selected for the study. Scale on Critical Thinking and Scale on Scientific Temper were administrated for collecting the data. The results of the study indicate that majority of high school students are having moderate level of Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper. There exists no significant gender and locale difference in Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students. It also shows that there exists significant moderate positive correlation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper.
INTRODUCTION
Science is actually nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking of an ordinary man. So science education cannot justify itself for remaining content merely with the objective of imparting a quantum of scientific knowledge. Science education should train young minds and help them develop different skills needed for a successful life. Science has introduced us to new ways of thinking, reasoning and hypothesizing our problems. Science education pursuits inculcation of the power of thinking and understanding and helps to sharpen intellect. Study of science helps in developing scientific attitude or temperament. Scientific attitude, which is a Mental set, is a collection of certain qualities of which are peculiar to the study of science. These qualities in human behavior do not develop overnight but through a long period of time. Science education has an important role to play in the all-round cultural and societal development of human kind and for evolving a civilized society. The essence of scientific spirit is to think globally and act locally, since scientific knowledge is universal in nature while the fruit of science have some site specificity. Science untangles the threads that create the tapestry of our living world.
All our educational endeavours eventually are concerned with the inculcation of an ability to think logically and develop skills desirable to make scientific observation and analysis in life among the young learners, so that, they may be able to avoid ragged traditions and use scientific deduction to solve the various problems of their own life, as well as of the society. Thinking allows humans to make sense of, interpret, represent or model the world they experience, and to make predictions about that world. Thinking can refer to the act of producing thoughts or the process of producing thoughts. In spite of the fact that thought is a fundamental human activity familiar to everyone, there is no generally accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created. Because thought underlies many human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins, processes, and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
All students, regardless of presumed limitations in ambition or ability, have some degree of potential to think critically. Studies have shown that most educational programs are neither challenging students to think critically nor helping them develop the reasoning abilities needed to deal successfully with the complexities of modern life. It is evident that while concern about Critical Thinking is widespread, effective instruction for Critical Thinking is not occurring on a broad scale. Even though Critical Thinking ability is highly valued in students especially in contemporary world yet many students are confused about what it means and how to develop it. Hence development of Critical Thinking has become a promising strategy helping to increase efficiency of individuals.
Seeja (2012) conducted a study on the influence of active learning strategies on critical thinking, thinking styles and achievement in physics among secondary school students. The study revealed that boys and girls are having similar critical thinking skills. People will be better equipped to compete effectively for educational opportunities, jobs, recognition, and rewards in our society if they can utilize their thinking abilities efficiently. Thinking includes organisation of information and knowledge, manipulation of symbols, comparison, reasoning, evaluation, decision making, judgments and the like. According to Schafersman (1991) people can be influenced througheffective science education to think critically on issues related to their personal and professional areas. Development of thinking ability is essential for the students of science as it helps them in their future career and develops positive attitudes essential for building up a progressive minded society (Smitha & Manjula 2011).
Scientific Temper involves the application of logic and the avoidance of bias and preconceived notions, which is behind the method of acquiring reliable and practical knowledge. Low Scientific Temper causes many adverse effects on the well being of an individual. The lack of Scientific Temper weakens our ability to take rational decisions. Joshua (2015) conducted a study on effectiveness of a scientific temper package on certain cognitive and affective variables of students at secondary level. The findings of the study show that Boys have high level of Scientific Temper when compared to that of girls and students from schools located in rural area are having high level of Scientific Temper when compared to that of students from schools located in urban area. At present there is no special attention paid in the school to develop Scientific Temper among students. Since the lack of scientific awareness and Scientific Temper are the topics for discussion for long in the educational scenario, the present educational institutions are not adequately equipped to handle the challenges in a scientifically advanced society. Hence it is necessary to incorporate the relevant aspects of Scientific Temper in the curriculum of secondary school students.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To find out the level of Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students.
To compare Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students based on
o Gender
o Locale
To find out the extent of relationship between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students.
HYPOTHESES
Critical Thinking among high school students is moderate.
Scientific Temper among high school students is moderate.
There exists significant difference in Critical Thinking between boys and girls at high school level.
There exists significant difference in Critical Thinking between urban and rural students at high school level.
There exists significant difference in Scientific Temper between boys and girls at high school level.
There exists significant difference in Scientific Temper between urban and rural students at high school level.
There exists significant correlation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among high school students.
METHODOLOGY
The procedure or method adopted is reffered as methodology. In the present study, the investigator used normative survey method for collecting the data.
Sample
The sample of the study consists of 300 high school students of Kerala state drawn from Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta district selected on the basis of stratified random sampling technique.
Tools
The following tools were used to collect data for the present study
o Scale on Critical Thinking (Jayasree & Vishnupriya , 2018)
o Scale on Scientific Temper (Jayasree & Vishnupriya , 2018)
Statistical techniques used for the study
The hypothesis of the study were tested by making analysis of collected data with the help of statistical technique . The statistical techniques used in the study are,
o Percentage analysis
o Test of significance of difference between Means for large independent sample
o Karl Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Percentage analysis of Critical Thinking among high school students for total sample
The different samples were divided into three groups on the basis of the scores obtained for Critical Thinking. It was done on the basis of the mean and standard deviation of the scores obtained for Critical Thinking. The sample is divided into three groups on the basis of M ±σ. The frequency and percentage of Critical Thinking among High School Students and different levels are given in the following table.
Table
Frequency and Percentage of high school students having high, moderate and low Critical Thinking for the total sample
High
|
Moderate
|
Low
|
Total
| |
Frequency
|
52
|
204
|
44
|
300
|
Percentage
|
17.34
|
68
|
14.66
|
100
|
Results And Discussion
From the table 17.34 % students are having high Critical Thinking , 68% students are having moderate , and 14.66 % are having low Critical Thinking.. Majority of High School Students are having moderate level of Critical Thinking.
Percentage Analysis of Scientific Temper among High School students for total sample.
The different samples were divided into three groups on the basis of the scores obtained for Scientific Temper. It was done on the basis of the mean and standard deviation of the scores obtained for Scientific Temper. The sample is divided into three groups on the basis of M ±σ. The frequency and percentage of Scientific Temper among High School Students and different levels are given in the following table.
Table
Frequency and Percentage of high school students having high, moderate and low Scientific Temper for the total sample
High
|
Moderate
|
Low
|
Total
| |
Frequency
|
45
|
197
|
58
|
300
|
Percentage
|
15
|
65.67
|
19.33
|
100
|
Results And Discussion
From the table 15% students are having high Scientific Temper, 65.667% students are having moderate , and 19.333% are having low Scientific Temper. Majority of High School Students are having moderate level of Scientific Temper.
Comparison of Mean Scores of Critical Thinking between Boys and Girls in High Schools
The critical ratio of Critical Thinking between boys and girls was calculated using the mean and standard deviation. The mean , standard deviation and critical ratio are given in the following table
Table
Data and Result of Mean, Standard Deviation and Critical Ratio of Critical Thinking among High School Boys and Girls
Sample
|
Mean
|
Standard Deviation
|
N
|
t-value
|
Level of Significance
|
Boys
|
78.013
|
5.719
|
150
|
1.839
|
0.05
|
Girls
|
79.273
|
6.134
|
150
|
Result and Discussion
The Critical Ratio is found to be 1.839 which is lesser than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level. These two groups are not significantly different. That is the two groups do not differ in their Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking of boys and girls are found to be similar.
Comparison of Mean Scores of Critical Thinking between Urban and Rural students in High Schools
The critical ratio of Critical Thinking between urban and rural students was calculated using the mean and standard deviation. The mean , standard deviation and critical ratio are given in the following table.
Table
Data and Result of Mean, Standard Deviation and Critical Ratio of Critical Thinking among Urban and Rural High School students
Sample
|
Mean
|
Standard Deviation
|
N
|
t-value
|
Level of Significance
|
Urban
|
78.873
|
6.403
|
150
|
0.669
|
0.05
|
Rural
|
78.413
|
5.479
|
150
|
Result and Discussion
The Critical Ratio is found to be 0.669 which is lesser than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level. These two groups are not significantly different. That is the two groups do not differ in their Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking of urban and rural students are found to be similar.
Comparison of Mean Scores of Scientific Temper between Boys and Girls in High Schools
The critical ratio of Scientific Temper between boys and girls was calculated using the mean and standard deviation. The mean , standard deviation and critical ratio are given in the following table.
Table
Data and Result of Mean, Standard Deviation and Critical Ratio of Scientific Temper among High School Boys and Girls
Sample
|
Mean
|
Standard Deviation
|
N
|
t-value
|
Level of Significance
|
Boys
|
77.907
|
6.293
|
150
|
0.979
|
0.05
|
Girls
|
78.606
|
6.089
|
150
|
Result and Discussion
The Critical Ratio is found to be 0.979 which is lesser than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level. These two groups are not significantly different. That is the two groups do not differ in their Scientific Temper. Scientific Temper of boys and girls are found to be similar.
Comparison of Mean Scores of Scientific Temper between Urban and Rural students in High Schools
The critical ratio of Scientific Temper between urban and rural students was calculated using the mean and standard deviation. The mean , standard deviation and critical ratio are given in the following table.
Table
Data and Result of Mean, Standard Deviation and Critical Ratio of Scientific Temper among Urban and Rural High School students
Sample
|
Mean
|
Standard Deviation
|
N
|
t-value
|
Level of Significance
|
Urban
|
78.507
|
6.676
|
150
|
0.977
|
0.05
|
Rural
|
78.007
|
5.678
|
150
|
Result and Discussion
The Critical Ratio is found to be 0.977 which is lesser than the table value 1.96 at 0.05 level. These two groups are not significantly different. That is the two groups do not differ in their Scientific Temper. Scientific Temper of urban and rural students are found to be similar.
Coefficient of Correlation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among High School Students
To find the relationship between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper, the details of ‘r’, ‘t’, SEr and the level of significance for total sample and sub sample based on gender and locale are given in the table.
Table
Coefficient of Correlation and details of relation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper for total sample and sub samples
Sample
|
Total Sample N
|
Correlation Coefficient r
|
Fisher’s t
|
Ser
|
95% confidence interval
|
Shared Variance
|
Total
|
300
|
0.578
|
12.23
|
0.04
|
0.49-0.65
|
33.4
|
Boys
|
150
|
0.545
|
7.90
|
0.05
|
0.43-0.66
|
29.70
|
Girls
|
150
|
0.609
|
9.34
|
0.05
|
0.51-0.71
|
37.08
|
Urban
|
150
|
0.600
|
9.12
|
0.05
|
0.49-0.70
|
36
|
Rural
|
150
|
0.547
|
7.95
|
0.05
|
0.43-0.67
|
30
|
There exists significant moderate positive correlation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper among total sample of High School Students. There exists moderate positive correlation between Critical Thinking and Scientific Temper in the case of boys and Rural High School Students. And there exists substantial correlation between Scientific Temper and Critical Thinking among girls and urban High School Students
CONCLUSION
One of the aims of scientific study is the development of certain skills namely critical thinking, analytical thinking, logical thinking and the like. The development of critical thinking skills in all age levels has long been a national concern. As such, teaching faculty in all disciplines and at all level of education shared a common goal, to develop in the complex mental operations that will allow them to be successful in the classroom as well as future careers. Thinking is a covert higher level mental activity. For improving Critical Thinking,teachers use following methods such as conduct make-in-depth group discussions a compulsory class activity, encourage students to read scientific books, magazines and journals, encourage students to prepare scientific models and chart , conduct seminars and debates on Science topics and so on. Relating science to all other areas helps to develop Scientific Temper. Teachers should taught science more practically. For improving Scientific Temper, teachers use different methods/ techniques such as use Discovery Approach for teaching science, show suitable scientific video films, arrange visits to science museum, planetarium, factories, hospitals, research laboratories and encourage students to conduct and participate in field trips, science exhibitions and science debates
REFERENCES
Aggarwal, J. C. (2004). Essentials of educational psychology. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
Best, J. W., & Kahn, J.V. (2010). Research in education(10th ed.).New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Pvt., Ltd.
Duschl, R. (2007). Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in gradesK-8. Washington: National Academic Press.
Joshua, E (2015). effectiveness of a scientific temper package on certain cognitive and affective variables of students at secondary level (Doctoral dissertation). school of pedagogical sciences mahatma gandhi university kottayam, Kerala
Schafersman, S.D. (1991). An introduction to Critical Thinking. Retrieved in 2018, April, from facultycenter. ischool.syr.edu /wp-content/uploads/
Seeja, K. R. (2012) A study of influence of active learning strategies on critical thinking, thinking styles and achievement in physics among secondary school students, (Doctoral dissertation) University of Mysore
Smitha, V. P. & Manjula, P. R. (2011). Relative Effectiveness of Inquiry training Model and Guided Discovery Learning on Critical Thinking of secondary school students. Journal of Indian Education, XXXVII(2),22-3
