Science Education for the 21st Century: Developing Students’ Scientific Thinking and Critical Thinking

Dear Colleagues,

In the 17th century, the emergence of natural philosophy marked a transformative shift in philosophical critical thinking by incorporating empirical evidence, leading to the evolution of natural philosophy to science and the natural philosophers to scientists. This innovative methodology involved the use of rigorous quantitative techniques to develop scientific thinking, which serves to validate knowledge.

By the 20th century, the significance of critical thinking gained recognition in educational research, positively influencing the development of 21st century skills, which are essential for personal and professional growth.

Both critical and scientific thinking are rooted in higher-order cognitive abilities, facilitating decision-making, problem-solving, and argumentative skills.

The Education Sciences journal calls for high-quality contributions to this Special Issue focusing on the latest research and ideas on scientific and critical thinking and their implications for science education at all levels. Scientific and critical thinking develop progressively across educational stages, with key processes taking place before higher education. Therefore, contributions examining these constructs at different educational levels, especially in primary and secondary education, are particularly welcome. 

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Interface between scientific thinking, critical thinking, and science education.
• Teaching, learning, and assessing scientific and critical thinking and their gender perspectives within science education.
• Science teacher training about scientific and critical thinking.
• Scientific and critical thinking within science curricula.
• Developmental issues about scientific and critical thinking.

Dr. Ángel Vázquez-Alonso
Prof. Dr. María-Antonia Manassero-Mas
Prof. Dr. Silvia Ortiz-Bonnín
Dr. Virginia Ferreiro-Basurto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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