An action research on developing critical thinking skills in the context of citizenship education in higher education

The purpose of this research is; in distance education applications prepared in line with the action research aimed at improving the critical thinking skills of higher education students in the context of citizenship education; to examine that planning-implementation-evaluation-reflection studies, students' lives and experiences, students' perceptions of the structure and functioning of the implementation process and how a transformation occurs about students' critical thinking skills. In the research; was used action research design, one of the qualitative research designs. In the determination of the participants, was used the "criterion sampling" method, one of the purposive sampling methods. The participants of the research were the academician who conducted the "Contemporary World Problems" course taught as an undergraduate course in the Social Studies Education program of a university in the Central Anatolia Region in the 2020/2021 academic year, 30 pre-service teachers who took this course and voluntarily participated in the research and the Researcher. The data collection process was carried out through distance education between October 2020 and January 2021, in line with the decision taken by the university where the application was made due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. In the collection of data; interview, focus group interview and document review methods were used. Data collection tools are online ZOOM lessons, student products, semi-structured interview form, semi-structured focus group interview form and WhatsApp correspondence. Descriptive and content analysis were used together in the analysis of the data. The collected data were analyzed through the MAXQDA 2020 qualitative data analysis software. According to the results of the research; the use of argument-based systematic and writing pedagogy in a holistic approach, which was handled in five action cycles, has improved the relevant critical thinking competencies. It was concluded that this process had taken place in a successive and distinct pattern. Considering the student experiences related to the process; on the axis of school culture, including the distance education processes of students; it was concluded that they experienced the dominant norms that pacified the students, focused on exam-points, and did not support interpretive perspectives. On the axis of social interaction; it was determined that the researcher-student interaction provided an effective experience. In addition, it was observed that students developed solidarity social networks throughout the process by forming social groups based on interaction and cooperation with each other. It was determined that apart from the small social groups with individual participation, there were clearly differentiated social groups in the classroom and critical thinking competencies were interrupted due to the normative nature of these interactions. On the axis of power relations; in addition to the students' surprise and curiosity about the application, it was determined that the students were affected by the multitude of cognitive loads and pandemic conditions. In addition, it was that they exhibited resistance experiences in participating in the practice at the initial stage, due to the fact that the researcher was not involved in the understanding of authority they internalized towards other academicians. On the axis of power relations; in addition to the students' surprise and curiosity about the application, it was determined that the students were affected by the multitude of cognitive loads and pandemic conditions. In addition, it was observed that they exhibited resistance experiences in participating in the practice at the initial stage, due to the fact that the researcher was not involved in the understanding of authority they internalized towards other academicians. It was determined that the hierarchical structure was preserved in the interactions in the social and knowledge dimensions of the researcher-student relationship and the students felt an internalized reactivity towards other academicians. On the axis of gender; it was determined that female students had experiences such as making intense efforts, self-doubt in the learning process, and having low career expectations related to epistemological competencies and both female and male students lagged behind in academic studies due to care responsibilities. It was concluded that there was an interest and curiosity towards gender in the learning processes and that gender-based interactions were experienced in the hidden curriculum. Regarding how there were interactions and changes in students' perceptions; it was determined that students associated the studies with democratic citizenship competencies in terms of enabling them to develop their own perspectives, developing awareness on the basis of human rights and a conscious thinking citizenship identity. It was determined that students developed an optimistic perception towards the process within the scope of activities such as making additional studies on the systematic of critical thinking, making an effort to participate in classes and studies actively, and in this context, doing critical reading and active listening, in their desire to understand. It was concluded that the students benefited from the ZOOM sessions effectively in terms of "cognitive presence", "functionality" and "interaction", that they found the discussion sessions productive and motivating, and that they needed social interaction in the distance education processes. When the transformations of students on the basis of their critical thinking competencies were examined; it was concluded that the students comprehended the systematic of distinguishing the argument in a process consisting of "triggering event" and "discovery & integration" stages and that they developed an epistemological awareness as a cognitive frame of reference by adapting the systematic to what they read/write, speak/listen. It was determined that students made self-assessments about improving writing and acquiring perspectives within the scope of metacognitive thinking. It was concluded that the students developed a critical view towards knowledge and themselves, used a rationalist epistemology in this process, and developed a deep understanding and perspective on social reality throughout the process. It was determined that the students developed productive communication and dialogue with each other and practiced being impartial, but they also experienced difficulties related to this skill. While the students evaluated their thoughts and intellectual errors at the metacognitive level, they also evaluated the application-based research process. In addition, it was concluded that the evaluation criteria used in the studies were facilitating and that they understood and used these criteria. The recommendations within the scope of the research results are as follows: The process cycle determined for the use of "argument-based systematic" and "writing pedagogy" in a holistic approach in distance education processes can be used to develop critical thinking skills by integrating higher education programs into distance education processes. In higher education programs; Addressing issues such as epidemics, migration and refugee issues, and women's issues in a similar process to the one followed in this research can improve students' critical thinking skills and thus democratic citizenship competencies. Finally, the prevailing norms that pacify students in school culture should change, students should be more actively involved in the learning process, social interaction among students should be increased, and academician-student interaction should turn into an equal relationship.