Factors Influencing Critical Thinking Skills
Factors Influencing Critical Thinking Skills
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CHAPTER I
Critical Thinking Skills are generally seen as one of the essential skills in terms of
vital role in the learning process, especially in higher education where students are required to
analyze, evaluate and synthesize information. These skills encompass analyzing arguments,
making inferences, evaluation and self-regulation (Eunice et al., 2024). In fact this is considered
as a highly valued skill in education and an important principle which train student to have a
better and improved ability in constructing and analysing information and the enhancement of
Critical thinking is at the core of most intellectual activity that involves students learning to
recognize or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned
conclusions, and use information to solve problems. Examples of critical thinking skills are
inferring, hypothesizing, appraising, testing and generalizing (ACARA, 2024). In the field of
Education, the development of critical thinking skills is crucial for promoting a successful
teaching tactics and strategies, classroom management and problem solving activities, especially
for those students taking up Bachelor of Elementary Education. As this abilities support students
intellectual development which influence their success in the classroom. Thus, critical thinking
abilities are influenced by a number of variables including psychological and sociological one.
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These factors influenced the ability of students to think critically which impacted their academic
performance. Numerous studies result showed that there is a mixed result regarding the
relationship between critical thinking skills and the academic performance of the students. As
supported by the study conducted by Zulfgar & Hayat (2023) it reveals that there is no
significant correlation between student’s critical thinking skills and their academic performance
in higher education, while in the study of Baylon (2014) it was found that there is a significant
However, in the Philippine education system and the data results, it appeared that there are
students who have experienced low engagement to critical thinking as an essential skill to their
chosen field of profession/program. Philippines are considered as the country who has the
lowest PISA scores in the 2022 report as affirmed by PISA (2022). It is shown that the student’s
level of critical thinking skills has a great variation when they enter university as some student’s
shows unsatisfactory levels. Therefore, fostering these skills is important especially for those
students under Bachelor of Elementary Education as this is needed for the field of specialization
they choose.
These studies seek to determine the factors that affects and influence critical thinking
performance.
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Theoretical Framework
This study will be anchored to the cognitive development theories. Among emerging
adults posit that environmental and age-related influences are responsible for individual
differences in complex reasoning abilities (Orona et al., 2022). Therefore, the concept of 21st
century skills has gained popularity in higher education and general education during the past
few decades. The fundamental tenet of this concept is the conviction that individuals who leave
school to enter the workforce today need a specific skill set in order to be successful and
contribute to the advancement of the economy and society in an environment that is both
In addition, the key contributions, according to Li et al. (2021), are on describing the
critical skills and subject-matter expertise in demand in the manufacturing sector and identifying
possibilities for worker training and up skilling to solve the growing skills and knowledge gap.
However, Kocak et al. (2021) examined if problem-solving and other 21st century skills (such as
algorithmic thinking, creativity, digital literacy, and effective communication) are related via the
lens of cooperation and critical thinking. Additionally, Jean Piaget supposes students to have a
Formal Operational Stage which he calls the hypothetical-deductive reasoning of the ability to
think theoretically. As the word implies, this thinking make use of theories which denotes the
Conceptual Framework
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To conceptualize, this study seeks to identify the Factors affecting critical thinking skills
schematic diagram shows the relationship among the variables; wherein the diagram is consist of
two variables namely independent and dependent variable. The independent variable has two
parts. The Socio-demographic profile of students in terms of Age, Sex and Year level .The
second parts is the Factor’s Affecting Critical Thinking Skills. The dependent variable talks
Schematic Diagram
Socio-demographic profile of
the student
a. Age
b. Sex
c. Year level
This study aims to determine Factors Affecting Critical Thinking Skills in relation to
A. Age
B. Sex
C. Year Level
2. What is the extent of Factors Affecting Critical Thinking Skills of Students in terms of;
A. Psychological Factors
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a .Cognitive biases
b. Emotional States
B. Sociological Factors
a. School Environment
b. Peer Influence
5. Is there any significant difference between factors affecting Critical thinking skills when
6. Is there any significant relationship between factors affecting critical thinking skills to the
student’s academic performance?
HYPOTHESIS
After the formulation of the Statement of the Problem, the following hypotheses were drawn.
2. There is no significant difference between factors affecting critical thinking skills when
3. There is no significant relationship between factors affecting critical thinking skills in relation
The focus of this study is to determine the Factors that affects and influenced critical
thinking skills of the students taking up Bachelor of Elementary Education in relation to their
academic [Link] study will be conducted to the students of Central Philippine State
University-Hinigaran Campus, 1st to 3rd year students for the S.Y. 2024-2025. It will be limited to
the students enrolled under the college of Teacher Education major in General Education 1 st – 3rd
to student’s interest. Vital results of this study where highly significant and beneficial to the
following:
School Administrator. The result of this study will help the administrators to manage,
develop and improve curriculum design that may help in developing and enhance student’s
critical thinking skills which are essential to their academic success and their future professional
endeavors.
Teachers. The result of this study will help the teachers enhanced their teaching tactics
and strategies. Furthermore, this will help them to create and utilize the right teaching style and
classroom activities that will foster critical thinking that will allow them to engage in a critical
Student. This study will help student increased their engagement in many activities that
will help them improved their learning performance. On the other hand, the result of this study
will improve the self- awareness of the students that will help them understand the importance
Community. This study will serve as an instrument for the community in developing
programs which may greatly influenced the development of the critical thinking skills of the
Parents. The result of this study will benefit the parents in terms of supporting the future
endeavors of their children. This will inform them how their small actions and support will
Future Researchers. The result of this study serves as a source of information for further
study on the Critical Thinking Skills of BEED Students. In addition, it will help them to enhance
and develop their research through gathering more data and deeper analysis.
Ddefinition of Terms
For better clarification and understanding of terms related to this study, the following
Operationally, it refers on the ability of BEED students in interpreting, analysing data and
information, their ability to construct knowledge and their ability to reason out.
Psychological. Conceptually, it refers to the elements that influence and individual mental
Operationally, this refers to the different factors such as cognitive biases and emotional
states that affects and influents the critical thinking abilities of the BEED students .
Operationally, this refers to the different emotions that affects and influenced the mental
involves aspect of social life, such as social structures, institutions , group dynamics and cultural
norms that may affect individual and group behaviour ( Giddens, A. et al., 2017)
Operationally, in this study it is the social factors such as school environment and peer
influence which directly influenced the behavior of students that affects their academic
settings, social interactions and organizational structures that influence the educational
Operationally, it refers to the classroom environment, school settings, teaching method used
and utilized by the teachers that plays a significant role in the development of critical thinking
Peer Influence. Conceptually, it is defined as “the effects peer exerts on one another’s
attitudes, behaviour and choices through direct interactions and social norms (Berndt, 2017)
Operationally, it refers to the influenced exerts by the different peer group that affects and
CHAPTER II
One such concept of Critical Thinking has been much talked about in the educational
literature. That is why these skills should be encouraged and developed in all higher education
courses. As this skill, is useful for evaluating or assessing information with an objective of
analyzing (Ennis, 2018). Critical thinking has traditionally been defined as the active process of
agreeing or disagreeing with information, judging to ascertain its truth and transforming
According to Hasruddin & Rezeqi (2015) one of the college students was trained using
critical thinking supervision by instructor and the rest was not. Research has shown positive
relationship between critical thinking and the academic performance of students in different
majors (Guo, et al, 2020). Some of the traits of critical thinking are, flexible, genuine,
pluralistic-thinking, wonder-makes us think on toes & solitaire (Gilhooly, Ball & Macohi, 2015)
but participants or an individual makes choices & critically appraises the decisions. Thus, this
gives chance to rationalize the existed knowledge one has own (Howard, Tang & Austion, 2015).
Multiple researchers have underscored the importance of thinking, within the realm of teacher
training (Knight & Robinson, 2019). According to the findings of Zulfgar & Hayat (2023) the
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abilities to analyze and evaluate information critically and formulating one’s opinions and
insights are facets of critical thinking that are intricately connected to advanced cognitive skills.
Recent research has highlighted the significance of integrating thinking into teacher
education programs (Arifin et al., 2020). Nevertheless, findings from studies indicate a gap
between the perceived value and emphasis, on thinking and the practical utilization of methods
aimed at fostering these abilities specifically among BEED students (Knight & Robinsons 2019).
It appears that the issue lies in the disparity, between the perceived significance and the practical
integration of thinking within teacher training programs, which could result in a deficiency of
readiness among students to utilize these skills in their prospective classrooms, within their
On the study conducted by ( Smith et al in 2020 ) they had found that students involvement
in problem solving tasks and explorations can have an impact on enhancing their thinking skills
to analyze and interpret various scenarios., information accurately as well as apply their
knowledge to real life events and circumstances. On the other hand, a study conducted by
Zulfqar & Hayat (2023) explored the connection between thinking abilities and the academic
success of BEED students. Student possess critical thinking abilities tend to achieve high rate of
academic performance compared to those who have a weaker critical thinking skills. This
underscores the importance of thinking skills in student education and achievement. Critical
thinking is viewed as a skill alongside reading and writing (Wan et al., 2023). It acts as a driving
force, for investigation the pursuit of knowledge creation and the cultivation of logical thought
processes.
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Problem Solving are one of the activities that students are more likely to utilize their
critical thinking skills. As this activity enable students to resolve problems, by facilitating the
solving offers student the opportunities to actively engage in the exploration of knowledge,
investigation, observation, formulating solution, which enable students to widen their perspective
, at the same time their ability to think critically and to have a deep comprehension is utilized
Akar & Kara (2020) proves that critical thinking attitudes vary from person to person, since
people live in a diverse population with varying perspectives of understand knowledge. On the
other hand Facione, defines critical thinking skills as not only an interpretation and analysis of
information but also as a character traits (inquisitive , open minded etc.), and termed
Cognitive Biases
Critical thinking is described to be one of the Meta -cognitive processes which consist of
sub skills such as analysis, evaluation and inference. It has been recognized that this skills is the
most important thinking skills and the indicators of the learning quality of the students. Choices
and judgment made by students are influenced by cognitive biases (Cherry 2016). Hence some
authors claim that biases in behavior or cognition can actually facilitate the decision making
process (Johnson et al., 2013) while others describe cognitive biases as ways to optimize
Cognitive biases more generally reflect clear and predictable departures from what could
be called rationality in human cognition (Haselton et al., 2015) “cases in which human thoughts
reliably produce a distortion compared to objective reality. Benson (2020) claims that, cognitive
information, , brain trick , ability of an individual in dissecting the meaning of the piece of
information he has recently acquired and taken notice of, his intention act on it, the need for him
not to forget that hypothetical important piece of info. However, some of the researchers believe
that if an individual can handle his own cognitive biases, as a result it will be a great help for an
individual to acknowledge and aid bettering decision making which in turn affects an
individual’s critical thinking. Additionally Haselton et al. (2015), claims that cognitive bias is a
situation wherein human cognition reliably produces judgments that are systematically wrong if
they are confirmed to a particular facets of fact. At every level of decision making process, biases
Some of the researchers found that cognitive biases help an individual understand and
improve decision making which somehow affects the critical thinking ability of an individuals.
As what Caputo (2013) asserts, “cognitive perceptions can highly bias human when making
judgments”, this give emphasis that cognitive biases greatly influenced on how people make
wise decision. Additionally (Dror et al., 2015) claims that cognitive biases work without
awareness, which lead students to be over confident with their conclusions and judgments.
Overconfidence lead students to underestimate the task given to them which is greatly
affects their academic performance (Mazar & Schoin , 2016) . Some students take favor in terms
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of taking information. They take only the information that favors their preconceived notions,
with that the chance to adapt new alternative educational strategies were low , which affects their
academic performances ( Gibbon et al., 2018) . Biases hinder students in accepting any
Luippold (2015) claims that biases results in an obvious and detrimental outcomes.
Overcoming this is mostly a matter of individual will and the cultivation of an open mind that is
ready to see another perspective, as cognitive biases comes in many forms that is caused by
various factors such as, mental shortcuts, social pressures, and emotions (Lang, 2019). To reduce
the impact of cognitive biases and improve critical thinking abilities, educational programs,
As a conclusion, cognitive biases greatly influenced the critical thinking skill of students
as they choose to believe and rely on their own ability disregarding evidence that contradicts
their own notions and beliefs. Furthermore, this impacted critical thinking by distorting how
information is processed, evaluated, and integrated. Gerenzer (2018) acknowledge that some
cognitive biases do exist and are harmful. According to him, many of the biases we hold are as
Emotional States
Emotional states of students have a profound impact in the development of their critical
thinking ability. It significantly influences their ability to engage in an effective critical thinking.
Emotion plays an important role in the human communication and interaction. In the context of
learning, emotional state is one of the factors that greatly affect the performance of many
students. On the study of Marsh, he concluded that emotional intelligence does not vary directly
with gender, but it does have an impact on the holistic assessment of students. Meanwhile,
Farooq (2006) explored the effect of emotional intelligence on the academic performance of
students. This inquiry pointed to the clear superiority of high emotional intelligence, with these
individuals achieving at levels commensurate with orders of preference that were little more than
half the number of the median for those plaintiffs. Indeed, it seems that interpersonal skills, as
signaled by the presence of high emotional intelligence, are a clear pathway to success in high-
stakes environments like school and work. As supported by the study of Upadhyay's (2006) it is
revealed that students with high emotional intelligence had superior self-confidence.
Furthermore, on the investigation study of Plass et al., ( 2014) they had found out that
when emotional design like round shapes and warm colors are used in the classroom instruction
it will induced positive emotions and fostered learning, as it set a positive mood before learning
instruction start. The connection between mental health and critical thinking (CT) skills has not
been directly studied. Still, several programs have probed the effect of a CT skill instruction on
the mental health of young people. Kargar (2013) found that teaching CT skills not only helped
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student score better in their academic assessments but also resulted in fewer depression
symptoms, insomnia, and somatic complaints among the participant. As supported by the study
conducted by Mayer and Estrella (2014) emotionally appealing design enhanced learning.
On the other hand, emotion plays a pivotal role in student learning. Many factors are
found that affects students emotions, one of these is the teacher. Morina (2019) claims that
emotions were influenced by the affective attachment, students develop with their teachers. As
teacher plays a crucial role in fomenting students motivation and emotion ( Trigueros ,2020).
Research had shown that both positive and negative emotions influence cognitive
learning in different ways (Daniels, 2015). Positive emotions such as (enjoyment, curiosity, and
pride) increase flexible learning, student self-regulation and most of all their critical thinking
ability ( Pekrun & Perry, 2014). Enjoyment was related to self-regulation and motivation, which
highly influenced student’s current and future engagement in different activities facilitated by
their teacher or by their peers ( Chatzistamatiou et al., 2015) . Furthermore, enjoyment was also
useful in predicting students learning strategies such as elaboration, critical thinking and self-
In online settings, it was found that students’ emotions are positively correlated with
motivation and performance (Kim et al., 2014) .This claims can be observed in the study
conducted by Butz et al. ( 2015) which examined the effects of emotions on students’ overall
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Achievements, analyzing their impact on Meta- cognitive and cognitive strategies. Students with
a lower level of boredom but higher levels of enjoyment and pride used higher levels of
cognitive strategies, whereas students who felt less bored, angry, shameful, and hopeless but
more engaged and prideful used a higher level of metacognitive strategy (self-regulation).
School Environment
School environment has a motivating factor that makes the teaching and learning process
enjoyable. Classroom design, school culture and the teaching method used are the different
aspects of the school environment that can impact on the student critical thinking ability. The
quality of University students learning environments has been positively associated with the
student learning and experience (Dorman, 2014). Higher Education has been positively receiving
a growing attention worldwide resonate its responsibility in terms of preparing students in the
modern complex knowledge ( OECD, 2019). Classroom environment revealed that physical
environment plays a vital role in the teaching learning process. It affects both the performance of
the teachers and the students ( Suleman and Hussain, 2014). A classroom environment should be
conducive for learning, for student to be able to think clearly and critically. Thus the arrangement
of chairs, tables, lighting and temperature, discipline techniques enacted by the teachers set a
The teaching method of the teachers can greatly enhanced the Critical thinking ability of
students. Oz & Memis (2018) showed that the use of the multi-modal representations in ‘writing
to learn’ activities improved the students’ scientific critical thinking skills. Multiple
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representations enables instructors and teachers to display concepts via verbal, pictorial, graphics
and diagram which may measures students ability to analyze concepts bases on the
representation used. This enables students to be able to utilize their critical thinking ability.
by using such modes as analogies, verbal statements, written texts, diagrams, graphics and
simulations (Tang, Delgado & Moje, 2014), by this students reasoning skills and the ability to
think critically will be in great use. On the study conducted by Anggereini & Yeliante (2023 )
shown that there is a positive effects on students critical thinking skills and interest when they
every human. Through this students will be able to create a good and comfortable environment.
In addition, the situation of environment students are in, will greatly affects the thinking
activities of students, especially the critical thinking skills (Liu, Y., & Pasztor, 2022). Students
certainly faced with various environmental problems around them, especially in school
environment. The emotional and social environment of the classroom has a big influence on how
The significance of a classroom setting that is supportive has been emphasized by recent
researches. Huang and Liang (2019) found that a classroom environment which values mutual
respect and open communication has been shown to improve student’s critical thinking skills.
Students are more likely to participate in critical thinking exercises when they feel emotionally
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supported. Furthermore, a study in the year 2021 indicated that classroom settings that support
intellectual risk-taking and provide helpful criticism raise student’s critical thinking
abilities .This highlighted how critical thinking skills development of students requires an
Teacher role in the classroom is a key factor that greatly influenced student’s critical
thinking ability. Teacher must utilized creative exercises and activities during the lesson proper to
encourage learners to be more motivated and inspired to learn. As a result, students will be given
a change to use their cognitive capacity and with that, their critical thinking skills will be in great
used, consequently they will be able to have the pleasure and satisfaction of the lesson ( Vdovina
, 2013). Throughout the learning process, learning motivation encourages students to perform
activities that will help them achieve their goal, satisfy their need or meet an expectations
( Gopan et al. 2017) Chen & Swan (2020) found that cooperation is also associated with critical
Lucas (2020) believes that cooperative works lays the groundwork for discussion in which
significant role on students learning and the development of their essential critical thinking skills.
Teacher played also a pivotal role in shaping the development and character of the students.
Additionally the method teacher and instructor utilized will greatly impact the development of
Peer Influence
influence. That influence can and does change the way some students perceive themselves. When
peer influence is not conducive, it can certainly lower self-and mutual esteem. Laursen (2018)
claims that peer influence occurs when an individual acts or thinks in ways that he or she would
not normally do. It is the attribute of interaction and direct experiences with friends or
"affiliates." Peer influence is a very strong indicators of child behavior during adolescence as it
provides the vehicle to attain both conformity and differentiation ( Kinderman & Gest,2018).
Adolescence is the stage where students collectively become a part of the society they are
in. They connect and interact with other learners which contributed and influence the way think
and act in the society. Students in this stage activate regions of their brain and peers are likely to
elicit responses (Smith et al. 2015). It was also found that friends appear to elicit a stronger
neurological response in students than peers (Schreuders et al. 2019).They also appear to elicit an
even stronger “affect effect” in terms of to the kind of experiences that make students feel good.
However, the act of co- rumination among friends may relay some detrimental impacts. As
supported by the study of Rose (2014) co-rumination involves togetherness in sifting through the
details of a problem rehashing it, and encouragement when it comes to discussing problems. First
of these negative effects is to press the conversation into a deeper understanding and reworking
of the problem.
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In the realm of education, students often overlook their own beliefs, knowledge, ideas,
and values to avoid comparing their ideas to others. This tendency toward sameness has a
profound impact on the development of critical thinking. Students stifle themselves because they
are afraid of being judged, and this self-censorship directly inhibits important cognitive growth.
As Wang et al. (2022) suggested that, peer influences are more powerful than we think. It
displayed a key influenced in shaping child’s holistic ability. Wang (2022) also found that
friends, large extent, and the average friend significantly impact the academic performance of
students.
Wu and Zhang (2020) looked at this phenomenon from a different angle. As they claim
that the improvement of a peer's average grade significantly boosts one's motivation to perform
better. As supported on the study of educational sociology, it was found that there are an obvious
academic performance (Yang,2021).On the other hand , learning and living with a peer who
have an outstanding performance are more likely to motivate other students to have an
outstanding academic performance (Putnam ,2015) while a student living and learning with a
peer who had a poor academic performance or behavioural norms usually lead to some negative
consequences and more likely to have a poor academic performance ( Zhang et al. 2021).
According to Wu & Zhang (2020) the quality of a close friends network and average
performance .On the other hand, when a learner or students became a member of a specific group
they are committed to a norm of social compliance (Cheng, 2017) tends to follow a consistent
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norms (Ma & Huang, 2021). Additionally Olalekan (2016) found that peer group has a
significant influence mostly on lot of students. They displayed a positive and negative influence
on students but positive influence are more likely to play an important role leading a learner to
secondary school students academic performance in Social studies , he found out that the peer
and no significantly influence on the others area of the student’s performance . As a basis of this
evidences, peer group positively impact on the learning and academic achievement of a student’s
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the research design, locale of the study, respondents of
study, sampling procedure, data gathering instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments
Research Design
This study will utilize descriptive-correlational research design using quantitative analysis and
systematically describe a population, situation or phenomenon. It can answer what, where, when
and how questions, but not why questions. A descriptive research design can use a wide variety
of research methods to investigate one or more variables. Unlike experimental research, the
researcher does not control or manipulate any of the variables, but only observes and measures
This study will be conducted at Central Philippine State University, Hinigaran Campus. The
respondents will be the 1st year to 3rd year BEED students. It is situated at Barangay Gargato in the
The respondents of the study are 157 students of Central Philippine State University-
Hinigaran Campus taking up Bachelor of Elementary Education from 1st -3rd year students. There
will be a total of 113 students who are taken as the sample size of the study out of one hundred
The table below shows the distribution of the respondents of the study.
Year level N n
BEED 1- A 29 21
BEED 1-B 29 21
BEED 2-A 30 22
BEED 2-B 30 22
BEED 3-A 20 14
BEED 3-B 19 13
TOTAL 157 113
Sampling Technique
A stratified random sampling is being utilized in selecting the respondents of this study.
The researcher uses this technique to ensure a fairly equal representation of the variables for this
study. This has been accomplished by selecting responses from among the 157 students at
Central Philippines State University- Hinigaran Campus who are enrolled under the College of
Teacher Education major in General Education . In determining the sample size for this study, the
researchers utilize Slovins formula and Stratified S formula to determine how many respondents
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would be taken to participate in the survey. The table below shows the distribution of the
respondents.
Year Level N n
BEED 1-A 29 21
BEED 1-B 29 21
BEED 2-A 30 22
BEED 2-B 30 22
BEED 3-A 20 14
BEED 3-B 19 13
Research Instrument
The researcher used a modified instrument from Elsevie, 2017 in gathering information of 1st
year to 3rd year BEED students. The instrument is composed of two parts. The part 1, the
personal characteristics in terms of: Age, Sex and Year Level. Part 2, which was contain an
indicator with 10 psychological items divided into 2 factors ( cognitive biases , emotional state)
and 10 sociological items divided into 2 factors (school environment, peer influence) a total of
20 items test. The questionnaire was rated as Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree,
Strongly- Disagree.
To establish the validity of the research instrument or questionnaire, a jury composed of three
panels or evaluators, who are experts or knowledgeable in research instrument validation of data. This
will carefully examine the questionnaire items for face and content validity using Good and Scates
validation sheet.
For the reliability of the instrument, it will be administered to BSED- Mathematics 1 st year to 3rd
Year students who are not selected as the respondents of the study. The questionnaire is conducted to 15
For the accomplishment of this study, the following procedure will be used:
The researcher sends a letter and research validation form to the expert person who validates the
modified questionnaire being utilized to let them know that the instrument is valid
After the questionnaire was evaluated the researchers proceeds in conducting reliability test in
After the summation of the total averaged from the gathered data, the researcher wrote a letter to
the Campus Administrator of Central Philippines State University- Hinigaran Campus asking for approval
After the approval of the Campus Administrator, the researchers will write a letter to the program
heads of the College of Teacher Education (COTED) of Central Philippine State University- Hinigaran
Campus that a study will be conducted to the 1st year- 3rd year students only.
After the approval of the program heads, the researcher will personally administer the
questionnaire in conducting the study. Before conducting the researcher will give further instruction to the
Then, the researcher will reproduce the questionnaire to ensure 1:1 ratio of questionnaire and
respondents. After reproduction, the researcher will personally conduct the instrument to ensure 100%
Data Analysis
The following statistical tools are used by the researchers to answer the following specific
will be used.
grouped according to their socio-demographic profile, in terms of Age and Year level, Kruskal
Rating Interpretation
skills when grouped according to the socio-demographic profile of the students, in terms of Age
and Year level, Kruskal Willis Test is used. In terms of sex, Mann Whitney U-test is used.
Chapter IV
This chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of results of the data gathered from
the study to determine the Factors Affecting Critical Thinking Skills in Relation to the Academic
The table below shows the profile of the respondents in terms of Age, Sex and Year
Level.
Table 1. showed that in terms of age 86 or (76.8% )ages 18-20 years old, 21 or (18.8%)
are 21-23 years old , 5 or (4.5% )ages 23-Above years old. In terms of Sex, 21 or 18.8% are male
and 91 or 81.3% are female. In terms of Year Level, 21 or 18.8% are from BEED 1-A , 20 or
(17.9% )are BEED 1-B , 22 or( 19.6% )are BEED 2 both section A and B , 13 or (11.6%) are
BEED 3-A and 14 or( 12.5% )are from BEED 3-B. This implies that most of the respondent’s
Table 1. Profile of the Respondents in terms of Age, Sex and Year Level
Female 91 81.3
Table [Link] the Factors affecting Critical Thinking Skills of BEED students in
Central Philippines State University –Hinigaran Campus for the school year 2024-2025 in terms
The table shows the extent of factors affecting critical thinking skill of BEED students,
in terms of cognitive biases it has obtain a mean of 3.870 and a standard deviation of .555
which was interpreted as agree , this implies that cognitive biases has a positive influence on
critical thinking skills of students. On the other hand, emotional states has a mean of 4.314 and a
standard deviation of 1.064 and interpreted as strongly agree, this means that emotions
positively influence students or learners way of thinking and making decision especially in
academic aspects . When students are happy and stress-free they can effectively make wise
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decisions. Furthermore, school environment has obtain a mean of 4.134 and a standard deviation
of .538 which is interpreted as agree; this implies that school environment has positive influence
on critical thinking ability of students. This means that the development of critical thinking
ability of students requires an inclusive and supportive environment which includes the teacher
and the teaching method used the classroom and school culture. In terms of peer influence, it has
obtained a mean of 3.970 and a standard deviation of .563 which is interpreted as agree. This
proves that peers have positive influence on how students think, perceive things and make wise
decisions. This also implies that peer group has a significant influence mostly on lot of students (
Olalekan, 2016).
The table shows, student’s level of academic performance in terms of mean it obtains a
This implies that students have a very good academic performance. This also suggests
that, students have a high level of critical thinking ability. They are able to utilize their thinking
ability with all the subjects. This also means that despite the factors that influence their way of
thinking they are still able to produce and make an effective and wise decision especially in
academic aspects .As supported by Zulfqar & Hayat (2023) it cited that students that possess
critical thinking abilities tend to achieve high rate of academic performance. This means that
when students are able to think more than usual, and when they involve there self to a more
complex activities like problem solving there are a possibility that there critical thinking ability
will be enhanced and developed more. The more they think deeply and critically, the more they
will have a deeper comprehension and the more they will achieve success in academic ( Bunterm
et al.,2014)
The table below shows the difference between students’ academic performance when
grouped according to their socio-demographic profile such as Age, Sex and Year Level
In terms of Age and Year Level, the test statistics being utilized is Kruskal Willis test. It
terms of Sex and students’ academic performance, Mann Whitney U-Test is being utilized.
academic performance, In terms of age, using the kurskal willis test it obtains a result of 15.520
with p- value of .000 which interpreted as significant. In terms of sex, using the mann whitney u
test it obtains a value of 941.500 and a p – value of 0.889 which is interpreted as not significant.
In terms of Year Level, it obtains a value of 36.647 using the Kruskal Willis Test with a p-value
Students’ Academic
Students’ Demographic Profile Statistics
Performance
Central Philippines State University
Hinigaran Campus
Hinigaran , Negros Occidental
U-Test
p-value 15.520
Age 0. 000
Decision Reject Ho
Significant
Conclusion
U -Test
941.500
p-value .889
Sex
Decision Failed to reject Ho
Not Significant
Conclusion
U-Test
36.647
p-value 0.000
Year Level
Decision Reject Ho
Significant
Conclusion
Difference between Factors affecting Critical Thinking Skills when grouped by profile
The table below shows the difference between factors affecting critical thinking skills
In determining the value between factors affecting critical thinking skills and socio-
demographic profile in terms of Age and Year Level, kruskal willis test is utilized. To determine
the value between factors affecting critical thinking skills and socio-demographic profile in terms
Table 4 shows that, in terms of Cognitive biases it obtains a result of 9.603 and a p-value
of .008 which is interpreted to have a significant difference when group in terms of age. Students
are more likely to have biases when they are younger. Meanwhile, emotional states have a p-
value of .068, school environment has a p-value of .017 and peer influence obtains a p-value
of .002 which was interpreted as not significant when grouped in terms of age.
It implies that students way of thinking and making decisions are more likely to differ
when they are in the range of 18-20 years old. As they, are more likely to have a different
perspective in things that surround them. Furthermore, the level of their critical thinking ability
is more likely to differ, since there are students who ages 20 and above who has a poor critical
thinking skills.
Additionally, Cognitive Biases obtains a value of 1331.500 using Whitney U- test and a
p-value of .005 which is interpreted to have a significant difference when grouped in terms of
Sex. Furthermore, emotional states, obtains a value of 1047.000 and a p-value of .491, school
environment has obtained a p-value of .060 and peer influence has obtained a p-value of .059
Moreover, Cognitive biases has obtained a value of 6.190 and a p-value of .288,
emotional states has obtained a value of 10.097 and a p-value of .061 and school environment
has obtained a value of 7.352 and a p-value of .196 were found to have no significant difference
when grouped in term of Year Level. Meanwhile, in terms of peer influence it has obtained a
Central Philippines State University
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value of 13. 968 and a p-value of .016 which is interpreted to have a significant difference when
Table 5. Difference between Factors affecting Critical Thinking Skills when grouped by
profile
Kruskal
Willis
9.603 5.685 8.113 12.153
Age p-value .008 .068 .017 .002
Reject Ho Failed to reject Ho
Reject Ho Failed to reject Ho
Decision Significant Not Significant Significant Not Significant
Conclusion
Whitney U
1331.500 1047.000 1205.500 1,204.500
p-value
Sex 0.005 .491 .060 0.059
Reject Ho Failed to reject Ho Failed to reject Ho Failed to reject Ho
Decision
Significant Not Significant Not Significant Not Significant
Conclusion
Kruskal
Willis 6.190 7.352
10.097 13.968
.288 .196
Year Level p-value Failed to
.061 Failed to
0.016
Failed to reject Ho Reject Ho
Reject Ho Reject Ho
Decision Not Significant Significant
Not Significant Not Significant
Conclusion
Central Philippines State University
Hinigaran Campus
Hinigaran , Negros Occidental
Performance
The table shows the relationship between Factors Affecting Critical Thinking Skills such
Table 6, shows the significant relationship between factors affecting critical thinking
skills on the academic performance of BEED students. Cognitive Biases has a p –value of .223,
Emotional States has obtained a p-value of .201. It has a decision of not significant and come up
to the conclusion failed to reject null hypothesis. Therefore, these imply that Factors such as
cognitive biases and emotional states does not affect the academic performance of the
respondents. Such factors influence the way students think, analyzed, interpret and make
decisions but it does not entirely affects their performance in schools. Their overall academic
In terms of school environment it has obtained a p-value of 0.025 and peer influence on
the other hand, it has obtained a p-value of 0.037. The results have a decision of significant, and
come up with the conclusion reject the null hypothesis. Therefore, this implies that school
environment and peer influence has a significant influence on the academic performance of the
students. These factors played an important role on the performance of the student’s. Students
are able to make effective decision making regarding to academic aspects when the school
environment is conducive. The environment they are in with, can impact their performance in
school at the same time they may be able to produce a clear, wise and effective decision making.
Central Philippines State University
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On the other hand, Peers can greatly influence the academic performance of the students. As
cited by Scrhreuders et al.,( 2019 ) peers appears and can elicit a stronger neurological response
in students. This means that students can highly influence cognitive ability of the students which
can also enhance their critical thinking ability. As a conclusion, peer groups positively impact on
Academic Performance
Spearman’s rho
p-value 1.000
Cognitive Biases .223
Decision Failed to reject Ho
Not Significant
Conclusion
Spearman’s rho
0.540
p-value 0.201
Emotional States
Decision Failed to reject Ho
Not Significant
Conclusion
Spearman’s rho
0.235
p-value 0.025
School Environment
Decision Reject Ho
Significant
Conclusion
Decision
Significant
Conclusion
Chapter V
Summary of Findings
This study aimed to determine the Factors Affecting Critical Thinking Skills in
ages 18-20 years old. Majority of the respondents were Female and most of the
followed by the First Year (1st) students and third year (3rd) students.
2. From the results of all the factors, most of the interpretations of the results were
“agree” through which those factors influence the critical thinking ability of the
3. For the level of academic performance of BEED students, they have the
interpretation “passed” which means that BEED students have a good academic
performance.
Central Philippines State University
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4. From all the results being gathered , it implies that factors such as Cognitive
Biases and Emotional States has found not significant , meanwhile school
Conclusion
Based on the result of data being gathered, the following are the conclusion
being made:
This study has 113 respondents through which most of them ages 18-20
years old, Female has a higher number of respondents and most of them are
From the results being obtained and gathered , it shows that all the
computed data has an interpretation “AGREE” which states that most of the
factors does affects and influence the critical thinking ability of the students and
found to have influence in the academic performance of the students and does it
It was found out that factors such as cognitive biases and emotional states are
found to be not significant and has come up with the conclusion failed to reject
null hypothesis. On the other hand, factor such as school environment and peer
Recommendations
Based on the summary of the findings and conclusion of the study, the following
1. School are encourage to have program that can enhanced the critical
thinking ability of the students, through which it can influence and can
2. Schools must develop and must support students as it was found that
solving and real life situations which can enhance the cognitive ability of the
teachers and schools which can develop their critical thinking ability and
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Hinigaran , Negros Occidental
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RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
Dear Participants;
We, Camille Anne Ortega, Stephanie Magbanua and Ceilo Jane Vergara are currently
conducting a research entitled “FACTORS AFFECTING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
IN RELATION TO THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF BEED STUDENTS AT
CENTRAL PHILIPPINES STATE UNIVERSITY- HINIGARAN CAMPUS”, in these
regard we are asking your time to answer our questionnaire leading to our degree in Bachelor of
Elementary Education major in General Education .Your honest responses are crucial to the
success of this research. Please be assured that all your information provided will be kept strictly
confidential and will be only used for academic purposes. Thank You.
The Researchers
_____________________________________________________________________________
Indicators 5 4 3 2 1
I. Psychological Factors
A. Cognitive Biases
1.I am a person with logical and critical thinking skills
2. I often find myself relying on information that
confirms my existing beliefs even when evaluating
academic sources
3. I feel confident in my ability to recognize and
minimize biases in my academic reasoning
4.I can easily organize my thoughts
5. I can analyze and evaluate information effectively
before drawing conclusions.
B. Emotional States
1.I can easily comprehend and be able to think deeply
when I am calm and relaxed
2. I am aware that my emotions sometimes affect my
ability to think critically and make decisions
3. I feel motivated to engage various assessment
activities involving problem solving and information
analysis when I’m not stress
4. I can make informed decisions confidently to any
Central Philippines State University
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There is a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship between critical thinking skills and academic performance. While some studies find no significant correlation , other results, such as those from peer influence and school environment, indicate a significant impact on academic success . The varied findings suggest that the relationship might be influenced by contextual factors and the nature of students’ engagement with the academic tasks at hand .
Cognitive biases affect students' decision-making processes by introducing deviations from rationality in how they interpret and analyze information. Despite this, the study indicates that these biases do not have a significant impact on academic performance . This implies that students might compensate for biases through other means in academic settings .
Cognitive biases and emotional states influence the way students think, analyze, and interpret, affecting decision-making processes; however, they do not significantly affect academic performance . Instead, the study concluded that the overall academic performance depends more on how students manage different tasks . Cognitive biases can undermine critical thinking by introducing errors in reasoning, but the study's results indicated no significant impact on academic performance .
Peer influence can enhance students' critical thinking abilities through social interactions, which elicit stronger neurological responses. This heightened cognitive engagement can lead to improvements in critical thinking skills, as peers often provide diverse perspectives and challenging interactions that stimulate cognitive processes .
Educators can improve critical thinking skills by integrating critical thinking-focused pedagogies, utilizing the school environment to enhance academic decision-making, fostering peer interactions, and leveraging socio-demographic insights to tailor learning experiences. Such strategies should be aligned with curriculum improvements that emphasize analysis, evaluation, and evidence-based reasoning .
Developing critical thinking skills is crucial for Bachelor of Elementary Education students as it enhances their intellectual development, supports successful teaching strategies, and helps in classroom management. These skills are vital for their future roles as educators who need to impart critical reasoning and problem-solving abilities to their pupils .
The Philippines ranks low in PISA scores, partly attributed to students' varying levels of critical thinking skills upon entering university. This shortfall highlights the importance of fostering critical thinking, particularly for Bachelor of Elementary Education students, to improve this essential skill and elevate educational outcomes within the national context .
Methodologies to assess these impacts include mixed methods approaches, combining quantitative measures (e.g., surveys on cognitive biases, emotional states) with qualitative data (e.g., interviews regarding peer influence and school environment). Statistical analyses like Spearman’s rho can determine correlations, and case studies can provide deeper insights into external influences on critical thinking .
Socio-demographic factors, such as age, sex, and year level, influence students’ academic performance and critical thinking skills, although the study hypothesized that no significant difference in academic performance exists when grouped by socio-demographic profile. The analysis of these factors aims to understand variable patterns in critical thinking skills development .
The school environment significantly influences both critical thinking skills and academic performance. A conducive school environment helps students make effective decision-making regarding academic aspects. The study found a significant relationship between the school environment and academic performance, with a p-value of 0.025 .