An Examination of Articles on Critical Thinking in Science Education: An Analysis Using Bibliometric Mapping

Abstract

Critical thinking (CT) is a high-level thinking skill that should be gained in raising individuals who can analyze facts, make independent decisions, make comparisons, and make inferences. On the other hand, these varying states require the inclusion of new acquisitions, such as CT, as the focal point of education. This skill is critical in science education (SE) and has been the subject of many studies. The research examined the articles published on critical thinking in SE using bibliometric mapping analysis. It is crucial to guide researchers by revealing research trends in this field. In the research, 377 articles in SSCI, SCI-Expanded, A&HCI and ESCI indexes related to critical thinking in science education were examined and the last access date is June 2023.The results obtained from the analysis demonstrated that the studies on CT in SE tended to decrease when the distribution of years was examined; the studies focused on STEM and undergraduate education. It has been determined that the country with the most publications in this field is the USA, and the institution with the most references is the State University of New York Suny System. Finally, it was seen that the most cited author was Chang, Shao-Chen, and the journal was Journal of Research in Science Teaching. The results obtained from the research will guide future research since they reveal the current situation in examining the concept of CT in SE.

Keywords

• Bibliometric analysis
• critical thinking
• science education

Fen Eğitiminde Eleştirel Düşünme Konulu Makalelerin İncelenmesi: Bir Bibliyometrik Haritalama Analizi

Abstract

Eleştirel düşünme (ED), olguları analiz edebilen, bağımsız karar verebilen, karşılaştırma yapabilen ve çıkarımlarda bulunabilen bireylerin yetiştirilmesinde kazandırılması gereken üst düzey bir düşünme becerisidir. Öte yandan bu değişen durumlar, eğitimin odak noktası olarak ED gibi yeni becerilerin dahil edilmesini gerektirmektedir. Bu beceri fen eğitiminde (FE) kritik öneme sahiptir ve birçok araştırmaya konu olmuştur. Araştırmada, fen eğitiminde eleştirel düşünme üzerine yayımlanan makaleler bibliyometrik haritalama analizi kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Bu alandaki araştırma eğilimlerini ortaya koyarak araştırmacılara yol göstermesi açısından önemlidir. Araştırmada fen eğitiminde eleştirel düşünme ile ilgili SSCI, SCI-Expanded, A&HCI ve ESCI indekslerinde yer alan 377 makale incelenmiştir (Son erişim tarihi, Haziran 2023). Analizden elde edilen sonuçlar, fen eğitiminde eleştirel düşünme ile ilgili çalışmaların yıllara göre dağılımı incelendiğinde azalma eğiliminde olduğunu, çalışmaların STEM ve lisans eğitimi üzerine yoğunlaştığını göstermiştir. Bu alanda en çok yayın yapılan ülkenin ABD, en çok atıf yapılan kurumun ise State University of New York Suny System olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Son olarak en çok atıf alan yazarın Chang, Shao-Chen, derginin ise Journal of Research in Science Teaching olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlar, FE'de ED kavramının incelenmesinde mevcut durumu ortaya koyması nedeniyle gelecekteki araştırmalara yol gösterecektir.

Keywords

• Bibliyometrik analiz
• eleştirel düşünme
• fen eğitimi

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent: There were no participants in the study. Therefore, informed consent was not given. Statement Regarding Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals: There were no human or animal participants in the study. Consent to Participate: There were no human participants in the study. Consent to Publish: Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article. Funding: The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. Author's Contribution: The contributions of the authors are equal. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Availability of data and materials: Data will be made available on reasonable request

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