Critical thinking in Religious Culture and Ethics lesson: An analysis on the ninth grade textbook and teachers' views

The aim of the study is to examine the place of critical thinking in the Religious Culture and Ethics course in terms of teacher opinions and activities and questions to develop critical thinking skills in the 9th grade Religious Culture and Ethics textbook. In this study, which was carried out in a qualitative research design, the document analysis method was used to determine what kinds of activities and questions the textbook contains for critical thinking. In addition, the interview method was used in order to obtain more in-depth information about this aspect of the textbooks and to consult the opinions of the teachers on critical thinking in general and the position of critical thinking in the Religious Culture and Ethics course. The data for the study's document analysis came from the 9th grade Religious Culture and Ethics textbook and the high school Religious Culture and Ethics curriculum. The participants of the research are nine religious culture and moral knowledge teachers who took classes in high school in the 2021–2022 academic year. A descriptive analysis technique was used in the analysis of the data. 35 critical thinking strategies created by Paul et al. were used in the document analysis. The interviews were analyzed according to previously prepared categories and themes. As a result of the research, it was found that the activities and questions in the textbook were qualified to perform 26 of the 35 critical thinking strategies. As a result of the document analysis, it was seen that the outcomes of the units, the unit preparation and evaluation parts of the textbook were insufficient in terms of content for critical thinking. Likewise, it has been observed that teachers do not use activities for critical thinking in the course preparation process and assessment and evaluation processes. Activities and questions for critical thinking in the processing of the units are moderate in terms of quality and quantity. The fact that these elements are at a medium level is not considered sufficient for the Religious Culture and Ethics course, which provides education in a field such as religion where healthy thinking is the basis. It has been determined that the elements of critical thinking in Religious Culture and Ethics courses are not planned and programmed in terms of both textbooks and teacher activities.