Impact of Participatory Learning Program on Students’ Critical Thinking Skills at Secondary School Level

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to find out the impact of participatory learning program on students’ critical thinking skills at secondary school level. The present investigation was a quasi experimental approach with pre-test post- test non equivalent comparison group design. Sample comprised of 60 secondary school students studying in standard 1X. Instructional materials based on participatory learning program and Critical Thinking Skill inventory for secondary school students were the major tools used for the study. Data obtained were analyzed by using ANOVA and ANCOVA. The results showed there is significant difference in the means of experimental and control groups with respect to Critical Thinking among secondary school students.

Introduction

Participatory learning emphasizes active interaction between teachers and students, placing learners at the center of decision-making in curriculum and instruction. It fosters intrinsic motivation, intelligence, social cooperation, critical thinking, and lifelong learning habits through collaborative, problem-solving, and experiential learning methods. Learners construct knowledge by engaging with others, rather than passively memorizing facts.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of a Participatory Learning Program on secondary school students' critical thinking skills compared to traditional activity-based instruction. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, 60 students from Kerala were divided into experimental and control groups.

Key findings:

• Pretest scores showed no significant difference between groups.

• Posttest and gain scores were significantly higher in the experimental group, indicating better critical thinking development through participatory learning.

• Statistical analyses (t-tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA) confirmed the significant positive impact of the Participatory Learning Program.

• The study concludes that participatory learning is more effective than conventional activity-based instruction for enhancing critical thinking skills in secondary school students.

Conclusion

The major findings that have emerged from the study are listed below The t- value obtained for the means of pre-test scores of Critical Thinking was0.684 and the valuewas not significant even at 0.05 level. Hence, there was no significant difference between the mean pre-test scores of Experimental and Control group with respect to Critical Thinking Skills. This indicated that the pre-Experimental status of the students in the Experimental and Control groups were the same with respect to the Critical Thinking Skills. The t- value obtained for the means of post test score of Critical Thinking was2.35 and the value wassignificant at 0.05 level. Hence, there were significant differences between the mean post test scores of Experimental and Control group with respect to CriticalThinking Skills. The mean post test scores of Experimental group were significantly higher than that of the mean pre-test scores of the Control group. This clearly proved that the Experimental treatment using Participatory Learning Program was effective in promoting Critical Thinking among Secondary School Students. The t – value obtained for the mean gain scores for Critical Thinking was 2.24 and thevalue was significant at 0.05 level. Hence there were significant differences in the mean gain scores of the Experimental and Control group with respect to Critical Thinking. The mean gain scores of Experimental group (CT=11.23) was significantly greater than the mean gain scores of Control group (CT=7.86), this clearly proved that Participatory Learning Program was more effective for promoting Critical Thinkingamong Secondary School Students.From the analysis using ANOVA, the Fx valuefor Critical Thinking was 0.468 Since it is less than the table value required, Fx value is not significant at 0.05 level of significance. This reveals that there is no significant difference between the pre test scores on Critical Thinking of the students in Experimental and Control group. The Fy valuefor Critical Thinking was5.54 and the value was significant at 0.05 level. The significant Fyvalue indicated that the Experimental and Control groups differ significantly in the post test scores with respect to Critical Thinking Since the sample selected for the present study was intact classroom groups, it cannot be conclusively said that these groups differed significantly by merely comparing the post-test scores or gain scores of Experimental and Control group. So, when the post-test scores of the Experimental and Control group were compared using ANCOVA, the Fyxvalues for Critical Thinking was 6.80The significant ratio shows that the mean post test score of Critical Thinking of Experimental and Control group differ significantly after they were adjusted for the difference in the pre-test scores. The difference in the adjusted means for post-test score of Critical Thinking of Experimental and Control group were tested for significance and the following result was obtained. The t-value obtained was 3.69for Adjusted Means for the post test scores of students in the Experimental and Control groups with respect to Critical Thinkingwhich was significant at 0.05 level. This reveals that there is significant difference in the adjusted means scores on Critical ThinkingSkills of Experimental and Control group.This leads to the conclusion that there exists a significant difference inCritical Thinking between Experimental and Control group. Participatory Learning Program has a significant impact on Critical Thinkingamong Students at Secondary School level.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Dr. Sheenu G S, Prof. (Dr.) Issac Paul, Dr. Sherin G Thomas. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.