Designing a Structural Model for Explaining the Ethics of Critical Thinking Within the Framework of Ethics-Oriented Teaching Strategies in Tehran High Schools
Keywords:
Ethics-based teaching strategies, students' intellectual and moral values, educational planners, educational systemsAbstract
Purpose: The present study aims to design and test a structural model examining the impact of teachers’ instructional strategies on the development of critical thinking ethics among students.
Methodology: The statistical population of this correlational-descriptive study consisted of high school teachers in Tehran during the 2024–2025 academic year, and a sample of 450 participants was selected using a multistage cluster random sampling method. Data collection was conducted using two researcher-developed questionnaires: the Teaching Strategies Questionnaire (including components such as inquiry-based instruction, moral education, cooperative learning, and classroom dialogue) and the Critical Thinking Ethics Questionnaire (with components such as fairness, intellectual honesty, intellectual responsibility, and respect for others’ viewpoints). The validity of the instruments was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and their reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in SmartPLS software.
Findings: The results indicated that all causal paths between teaching strategies and the components of critical thinking ethics were positive and statistically significant (p < 0.001); notably, the strongest direct effects were observed in the path from teaching strategy to intellectual responsibility (β = 0.768) and from teaching strategy to intellectual honesty (β = 0.651). The model fit indices (R² ranging from 0.45 to 0.68) demonstrated a desirable explanatory power.
Conclusion: Based on these findings, ethics-oriented teaching strategies play a crucial role in shaping the intellectual and moral values of students. Consequently, it is recommended that educational planners promote the development of critical thinking ethics in schools by designing in-service training programs, revising curriculum content, and evaluating teachers based on ethical–cognitive approaches.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Masoumeh Thaskhori Abkenari, Reza Shabannejad Khas, Amir Hossein Mohammad Davoudi (Author)
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