Critical Thinking Skills in Elementary Science Education: A Systematic Review of ESD, PBL, and Digital Integration

Abstract

Elementary science education increasingly demands pedagogical approaches that cultivate sustainability awareness, problem-solving competence, and digital fluency, yet how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and digital technology can be jointly leveraged to strengthen elementary students' critical thinking skills remains poorly mapped. This study employed a qualitative Systematic Literature Review design, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 (PRISMA 2020) framework, to synthesize 50 peer-reviewed articles published 2020–2025 and retrieved from the Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Data were extracted using a structured matrix recording each study's research focus, method, key findings, and dominant variables, then analyzed thematically through narrative synthesis. Results showed PBL was the most studied theme (36.0% of articles), followed by ESD (24.0%), digital technology (16.0%), teaching module development (14.0%), and critical thinking skills as an explicit standalone focus (10.0%). Cross-tabulation revealed that combinations of these variables were rare, with only 6.0% of studies pairing PBL and ESD, 2.0% pairing PBL with digital technology, 2.0% pairing ESD with digital technology, and no study integrating all three variables within a single module. These findings indicate that although each component independently supports critical thinking development, their deliberate integration remains empirically untested. Future research should therefore design and experimentally test teaching modules combining ESD, PBL, and digital technology to strengthen elementary students' critical thinking skills.