The Role of Critical Thinking in Science Education

Abstract

This review aims to respond various questions regarding the role of Critical Thinking in Science Education from aspects concerning the importance or relevance of critical thinking in science education, the situation in the classroom and curriculum, and the conception of critical thinking and fostering in science education. This review is specially addressed to educational contexts (teachers) where Critical thinking has had a very few presence in Science Education, particularly in the classroom. The findings and discussion of this review explain the relevance and strong relationship between Critical thinking and science education. Nevertheless, problems were found when implementing critical thinking in the science classroom. One of these problems related to the lack of clarity for applying Critical thinking classroom techniques in science subjects. Though, its nominal (not practical) presence and recognition in science curricula, as well as in curricula in general, is not a problem. There are practical Critical thinking-related strategies that can be applied in science classrooms to improve science education results and critical thinking dispositions on students, one of these is ‘questioning’, regarded among the most powerful tools.

Keywords: Critical Thinking, Questioning, Critical questioning, Science, Science Education.