Critical Thinking in Turkish High School Geography Curriculum: A Component-Based Analysis
Abstract
This study examines the 2024 Turkish high school geography curriculum in terms of how critical thinking is embedded across its aims, learning areas, learning outcomes, disciplinary skills, and assessment guidance. Adopting a qualitative design, the study uses document analysis and directed content analysis based on six dimensions of critical thinking: inquiry, use of evidence, comparison, cause-effect reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. Findings show that critical thinking is not presented as a single declarative goal but is distributed through process-oriented verbs and curriculum structures. Across grade levels, use of evidence and cause-effect reasoning are the most visible dimensions, whereas decision making is the least represented. Inquiry and comparison become more pronounced in the upper grades, while problem solving and decision making are concentrated especially in the unit on disasters and sustainable environment. The curriculum therefore provides a strong basis for data-based reasoning, geographical interpretation, and multi-perspective thinking; however, the classroom enactment of critical thinking still depends heavily on teachers' task design and assessment literacy. The study concludes that the curriculum would be strengthened by more explicit performance indicators, model tasks, and rubric-supported assessment tools aligned with critical-thinking outcomes.References
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