Critical thinking skills in non-school activities of absentee students

Abstract

This qualitative research brought to light the critical thinking skills developed by the absentee students in one public secondary school in the Fifth District of the Province of Iloilo. Five participants were purposively selected based on their absences and responses to the checklist of non-school activities. Ethnography was used to determine the critical thinking skills manifested by the absentee students in their non-school activities, the non-school activities that developed their critical thinking skills, and the ways on how they developed their critical thinking skills. The principles of constructionism and interpretivism guided the domain, taxonomic, componential, and thematic analyses of data. Participant observation, ethnographic interview, and journal writing were used to triangulate the results. The themes revealed that the absentee students learned their interpretation, analysis, inference, explanation, and self-regulation skills as they engaged in non-school activities. It was shown that livelihood activities, household activities, and games developed the critical thinking skills of the absentee students. It was further revealed that the absentee students developed critical thinking skills through training and observation at home, through observation and participation in the activities in the community, through motivation and encouragement in school, and through the influence of social media and support of significant others.