Aishorya Bharati
Dakshin Paka High School, Barpeta, Assam, India
Prachurjya Borah
Nazira HS and MP School, Nazira, Sivasagar, Assam, India
Nisanth P.M.
Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Pages: 181-193
In the contemporary era, the education system aims to facilitate learners with the
development of high order thinking skills such as critical thinking skills, creativity, and
so on. Many developed countries like USA, China, Japan have prioritized enhancing
the higher cognitive abilities of students through their educational policies. This focus
is based on the belief that developing these skills will result in individuals who can
effectively contribute to the nation’s progress and development. Critical thinking skill
is one such important cognitive skill which is crucial to be developed among the people
for the advancement of the society, nation and the world. Several empirical studies
have been conducted to enhance higher cognitive abilities through the implementation
of various pedagogical approaches and methods. This study aims to enhance our
understanding of the efficacy of employing such pedagogical approaches in developing
critical thinking abilities by determining the effect size. Based on the review of articles
related to the problem, 22 studies which fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected by
the researcher for analysis and interpretation. The analysis used the calculation of
average Effect Size (ES) of the reviewed articles and then categorizing the ES based
on Cohen’s criteria. The findings of the study revealed that there lies strong positive
effect of inquiry-based approach on critical thinking of the students