Predictors of Environmental Critical Thinking: A Study of Mexican Children

Abstract

Sixty Mexican elementary school students completed questionnaires that were designed to assess the students' ability to distinguish environmental facts from opinions. Three demographic variables (gender, age, grade level), two psychological factors (academic skills, pro-environmental competencies), and four teaching strategies (exposition, examples, feedback, and positive reinforcement) were tested as possible predictors of environmental critical thinking. Results of a multiple regression revealed that the use of teaching strategies, the possession of pro-environmental competencies, and the exhibition of academic skills were significant determinants of the ability under study. Giving examples, providing feedback, and reinforcing a proper distinction between environmental facts and opinions produced higher scores on critical thinking, compared with the effects of using a simple exposition of this difference. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of developing critical thinking skills in students and the need for further research.