An action research to develop critical thinking skills in the context of citizenship education in higher education

This article aims to demonstrate how critical thinking skills can be developed as a citizenship competence in higher education. Critical thinking skills are necessary for citizens to participate in democratic processes effectively and consciously. The participants of this “action research” based study are the researcher who conducts the undergraduate course Contemporary World Issues and 30 preservice social studies teachers taking this course. Action research was conducted through distance education at a university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through Zoom lessons, student products, semi-structured interviews, semi-structured focus group interviews, and WhatsApp text conversations. Descriptive and content analyses were conducted using MAXQDA 2020 software. According to the research findings, a curriculum based on distinguishing arguments, writing pedagogy, and online group discussions improved students’ critical thinking skills. Students used distinguishing arguments as a cognitive framework for solving social and political problems and thus developed citizenship competence. Throughout the process, feedback was found to be quite functional. The curriculum used in the action research process can be recommended for use in the development of critical thinking skills as a citizenship competency in higher education.