Primary school students' critical thinking tendencies and reading

The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between primary school students' critical thinking dispositions, reading habits, and personal variables. The research follows a correlational survey model. The participants consist of 3rd and 4th-grade students attending a primary school in Hakkâri city center during the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected using a personal information form developed by the researcher, the Reading Habits Scale for Primary School Students (RH) (Esen-Aygün, 2019), and the Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale (CTDS). Among the participating students, 43% were girls, while 57% were boys. The students' ages ranged from 7 to 11, with 60% in 3rd grade and 40% in 4th grade. The data were analyzed using t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. According to the analysis results, no significant relationships were found between the students' scores on the CTDS and RH scales or their sub-dimensions (p>0.05). However, the scores on the biasness sub-dimension of the CTDS showed a significant difference based on gender (p<0.05). Female students' biasness scores were significantly higher than those of male students. The analysis results for the RH scale revealed that reading experience, family attitudes, and total RH scores differed significantly by gender (p<0.05). Female students' reading experience, family attitude, and total RH scores were significantly higher than those of male students. The students' total CTDS scores did not show significant differences based on age (p>0.05). However, the open-mindedness and curiosity sub-dimensions of the CTDS differed significantly by grade level (p<0.05). Fourth-grade students' open-mindedness scores and third-grade students' curiosity scores were significantly higher. The other sub-dimensions of the CTDS did not show significant differences by age (p>0.05). The students' RH scores—including individual attitude, reading experience, and total reading habits—differed significantly by grade level (p<0.01). Third-grade students' individual attitude and reading experience scores were significantly higher than those of fourth-grade students. Similarly, third-grade students' total RH scores were also significantly higher than those of fourth-grade students. The students' CTDS scores showed significant differences only in the curiosity dimension based on maternal education level (p<0.05). However, their total RH scores and sub-dimension scores did not differ significantly based on maternal education level (p>0.05). The CTDS scores showed significant differences only in the biasness dimension based on paternal education level (p<0.005). The total RH scores and sub-dimension scores did not differ significantly based on paternal education level (p>0.05).