Impact of teaching styles on critical thinking skills of students: Evidence from higher secondary schools Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of various teaching styles on the development of critical thinking skills of 12th standard students of Punjab, Pakistan. While national education policies have focused on competency-based learning and critical inquiry, classroom practices in the region are still often stuck in more traditional and teacher-led approaches. A quantitative cross sectional survey design has been used and the data were gathered from a stratified random sample of 351 students in three districts namely Khanewal, Okara and Rawalpindi. The pedagogical perceptions were evaluated using the Teaching Styles Inventory (TSI) and the cognitive attainment was measured with the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS). The multiple regression analysis showed that the “Facilitator (β = .45)” and “Delegator (β = .38)” teaching styles are the best positive predictors of critical thinking while the traditional “Expert” and “Formal Authority” styles have a negligible effect. However, R² (.42) shows significant effect of teaching styles on critical thinking of students. Besides, no statistically significant differences were found between gender and among three districts by using ANOVA. The results indicate that the use of transmissive instruction as a teaching method is one of the important systemic obstacles for developing independent analytical thinking. The study suggests that the need for educational reform is for teachers to learn and practice facilitative and inquiry-based pedagogies and that summative assessment system should shift away from merely memorizing facts and towards critical inquiry.