Critical Thinking Skills Development for 21st Century: An Analysis of Biology Curriculum (2006)

Abstract

Critical thinking has become an important skill of the 21st century to cater for complex challenges. The current study aimed to analyze the curriculum of biology (2006) to explore the critical thinking skills addressed in the document. The curriculum document was selected through purposive sampling technique. To do the document analysis, thematic analysis was used with the facilitation of NVivo 12 software that examined the curriculum’s aims and objectives, importance of critical thinking in the document, pedagogy, and assessment techniques suggested for the development of critical thinking. According to the findings of the study, the document explicitly addresses critical thinking in aims and objectives section. It also focuses on evidence, rational thinking, and intellectual honesty. Moreover, the suggested pedagogy is open ended questions, inquiry-based learning, concept mapping, and dialogue for the development of critical thinking skills among students. For the development of higher order thinking skills, a substantial weightage is allocated to alignment of the curriculum's goals. However, the study also identifies potential areas for improvement, such as providing more explicit guidance on integrating critical thinking across the curriculum and offering specific examples of activities and assessments that promote critical thinking. The findings suggest that while the curriculum lays a strong foundation for critical thinking skills development, its effective implementation relies on teachers' capacity to translate these intentions into classroom practice.

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