Trend of critical thinking skill researches in biology education journals across Indonesia: From research design to data analysis

Abstract

Empowerment of critical thinking skill is one of numerous goals the 21st century education intends to acquire. This study employed content analysis on a number of articles that had been published in Biology education journals across Indonesia since 2010 to 2017, with critical thinking skill as the main focus of the study. This current study has revealed that in the past three years, the number of publications that focused on critical thinking skill had improved. Among those publications, the most dominant research designed was quantitative. In addition, the tenth graders of senior high school and 'Ecosystem' were consecutively the subject and material targeted the most. Test and t-test were serially the most commonly-used instrument and data analysis method. In respect to the findings of this study, some recommendations have been proposed for upcoming researches underpinning critical thinking skill as the main focus. Some of these recommendations include increasing the diversity of research type and choosing more precise data analysis techniques.