Thinking Skills and Learning Interest in World History of Junior High Students in a Public School

Abstract

World History's importance lies in its ability to enhance thinking skills and interest in understanding global events. Therefore, assessing students' thinking skills and interests is necessary to determine their inclination toward the discipline. Based on Cognitive Development Theory, this study aimed to assess the level of thinking skills and learning interests and their correlative relationship. A descriptive-correlational approach was used, and validated and reliability-tested questionnaires were administered to 294 junior high school students in a public school in Bacolod City, Philippines. The mean, standard deviation, and Spearman rank correlation were used for data analysis. Students displayed average thinking skills and a high level of learning interest. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between students' thinking skills and their interest in learning world history. This invalidated the anchored theory. Hence, continuous improvements in employing strategies are recommended to public school teachers to boost students' critical thinking abilities and engagement in the subject.

Keywords

• Thinking skills, Learning interest, World history, Junior high school, Descriptive-correlational