The purpose of this study is to develop a valuation tool that can measure critical thinking power in social studies. The nature of social studies is to foster the citizen who can make a reasonable decision of any given real issue, not to inculcate stu...
The purpose of this study is to develop a valuation tool that can measure critical thinking power in social studies. The nature of social studies is to foster the citizen who can make a reasonable decision of any given real issue, not to inculcate students with fragmentary knowledge. In this context, the cultivation of critical thinking power is an important goal of social study education, and the evaluation is important to realize this in class. First, this study selected critical thinking function which can be applied in social studies to develop the evaluation for the measurement of critical thinking power. Second, this study developed a valuation question which can measure critical thinking function in social studies. Third, this study implemented the evaluation, and analyzed the result to verify the satisfaction.
The researcher reviewed critical thinking power and thinking function in social studies first to select critical thinking function which can be applied in society. In this study, the researcher extracted critical thinking function which are commonly found in previous studies, and then selected critical thinking function in social studies by groping for the link between common element and thinking function in social studies. The evaluation aimed at ① grasping the meaning of statement ② separating the fact from the value ③ checking the immanent assumption ④ valuating the validity of basis ⑤ recognizing the consistency of insistence.
The critical thought process is essentially demanded in solving issues, so this study addressed the issue as an element of valuation question. According to this, the researcher reviewed issues in the link between curriculum and textbook, and selected three subjects, hair liberalization, additional point for military service, and capital punishment by reflecting students' interest. According to issue, the researcher classified into Set A, B, and C, and each Set was composed to be tested in same shape. The subjects of this test were high school students, the test was progressed for 50 minutes with considering the effectiveness, and the number of questions were limited to 15 to increase the concentration of subjects in the fixed time. Accordingly, each of A, B, and C were composed of 5 questions to measure 5 spheres of critical thinking function in social studies.
This study implemented the evaluation with developed questions, and also implemented question analysis, correlation analysis, validation procedure, and reliability inspection to verify the satisfaction of questions. The mean degree of difficulty was .690, and the mean degree of discrimination was .472. There was strong correlation between critical thinking power in social studies and all of 5 critical thinking functions in social studies which were technically defined. The correlation between question set was significant, so it is considered that the result was not changed according to concrete contents of issue. There was almost no correlation between thinking functions, so it is considered that each of thinking functions are independent factor.
As the result of analyzing the correlation between 5 critical thinking functions in social studies and the total score to verify analytical validity, there was high coefficient of correlation between the total scores and all of 5 spheres, so it is considered that each sphere is a valid element to measure critical thinking power in social studies.
Additionally, questions of 5 spheres selected by the researcher mostly corresponded to questions assigned with factor analysis, but there was a limit in considering that there was the mutual exclusion in some questions of ‘grasping the meaning of statement’ and ‘separating the fact from the value’. It is required to establish subordinate factors of critical thinking function in social studies more minutely. Cronbach α coefficient to measure the internal consistency of question was .691, and the reliability of half-test showed a significant result. After considering these results of analysis, this valuation tool was significant in measuring critical thinking power in social studies.
For the more effective realization of critical thinking power education in school, it is required to continuously progress further studies which integrate critical thinking education with previous curriculum as well as the instruction for teachers.