Critical Thinking in Science Education: Nurturing Inquiry, Socio-Scientific Issues, and Innovation
Critical thinking (CT) is a distinctive form of reasoning focused on examining the truthfulness of arguments, making evidence-based judgments, making informed decisions, and participating actively in socio-environmental issues. It also includes emancipatory and argumentative dimensions that enable questioning authority. Despite the benefits of science for human well-being and development, scientific claims are increasingly challenged by personal, political, and institutional positions on issues such as climate change, vaccination, and nutrition. These challenges often promote pseudoscientific and denialist attitudes that spread rapidly through mobile devices, the Internet, and social media. Science education should therefore aim to build a scientifically literate citizenry able to respond critically to scientific and technological advances, including those promoted through STEM education. Inquiry-based science education is especially valuable because it encourages the search for and use of evidence, fostering science-based CT for democratic societies. In addition, socio-scientific issues, due to their controversial nature, provide ideal contexts for developing critical competencies such as evaluating arguments, identifying reasoning errors, assessing sources, solving problems, and making responsible decisions in public debates on socially relevant issues.