How Science Teachers Foster Critical Thinking in Junior Secondary Classrooms: A Narrative Inquiry from a Constructivist Perspective

Abstract

The narrative inquiry explored junior high school science teachers' reported practices in fostering students' critical thinking skills in Indonesia using a narrative inquiry approach guided by a critical thinking framework. Data were collected from October to November 2024 through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations involving science teachers at the junior high school level. The findings indicate that teachers frequently implemented student-centered instructional approaches, including problem-based learning, project-based learning, inquiry learning, and discovery learning, to encourage interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. Teachers also emphasized contextual problems, collaborative discussions, scaffolding, reflective questioning, and evidence-based reasoning to support students' thinking processes. Classroom observations confirmed the presence of instructional practices intended to encourage active participation, argumentation, reflection, and analytical reasoning. However, the findings represent teachers' reported practices and observed classroom interactions rather than direct evidence of students' critical thinking achievement or instructional effectiveness. The study addresses the role of reflective, inquiry-oriented, and scaffolded science instruction in supporting critical thinking development.