Critical Thinking and Science Process Skills: Evidence from Pre-Service Elementary Teachers

Muhammad Ikhsan Sukaria

doi:10.55927/jeda.v4i4.462

Authors

Muhammad Ikhsan Sukaria Universitas Negeri Makassar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/jeda.v4i4.462

Keywords:

Science Process Skills, Primary School Teacher Education, Critical Thingking, Correlation

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between critical thinking (CT) and mastery of science process skills (SPS) among Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) students, addressing the need to strengthen prospective elementary teachers’ competencies. A cross-sectional correlational quantitative design was employed. Primary data were collected from PGSD students at a public teacher education institution using two stimulus-based tests: a CT test and an SPS test covering observation, classification, inference/data interpretation, and variable identification–control. Content validity was established through expert review, and internal reliability was evaluated using coefficient alpha. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, assumption testing (normality, linearity), correlation, and linear regression. The results indicate that CT and SPS levels fall within the moderate category, with a positive and significant correlation between them. Regression analyses show that CT significantly predicts variance in SPS, with the largest contributions on data interpretation and variable identification–control indicators, whereas basic indicators (observation, classification) exhibit weaker associations.

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