A review of the role of problem solving and other critical thinking skills in the secondary home economics curriculum of the Sudan with an empirical study of the in-service training of teachers
Chapter I summarises the development of the Critical Thinking (CT) movement and previous studies of developing Critical Thinking Skills (CTSs), with particular focus on the methods used in teaching them in the Home Economics (HE) context. One method, Problem-Solving (PS)o was chosen to teach CTSs in Sudanese secondary schools for girls. A four-day in-service training course in teaching PS was conducted with all the HE teachers of Omdurman.To investigate the effect of teaching PS on students' learning in HE lessons, achievement tests were developed on 3 HE topics and were conducted on 234 students. Tests on the first two topics were conducted before and after the in-service course. T-test analysis was conducted on the mean scores of the results obtained, to compare students' learning of HE on the two occasions. it was found that the differences between the mean scores of the tests conducted prior to the in-service course and those carried out after it, were very highly significant, in favour of teaching PS-style lessons. A test on the third topic was conducted on all groups of students to investigate differences between classes.To show how trained teachers implemented the PS techniques acquired during the In-service course, a diary study was conducted on the three topics taught.Questionnaires were developed and administered to the teachers who participated in the In-service course to find out their opinions about the experience of teaching PS, both in the in-service course and In their own classes. Teachers' views were also obtained by means of semi-structured interviews.The findings of the study support the use of PS method in teaching HE. Some implications of the findings for the development of initial and in-service teacher training, as well as curriculum modification In Sudanese secondary HE education are highlighted, and suggestions made for further research.