The pedagogy of philosophical inquiry (PI) as an approach to develop critical thinking and self-confidence : a case study of undergraduate students in IIUM

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the pedagogy of Philosophical Inquiry (PI) in enhancing critical thinking and self-confidence among the undergraduate students of the Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (IRKHS), International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM). Besides that, it also aimed to find out how students view the approach. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design and a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the treatment group, students were taught using the PI approach, while in the control group, students were offered the regular formal criticalthinking skill course. Quantitative analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the pre and post-test on critical thinking for both the treatment and control groups. This means, both PI and the formal course did not help to improve critical thinking skills. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the pre and post-test self-confidence score of the treatment group but not for the control group. This means, PI helped to enhance students` selfconfidence in contrast to the formal course. With regard to the students` home works, quantitative analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in terms of the students` score between the treatment and control groups. This means, even though the treatment group was not taught the critical thinking skills formally, they were still able to get the same score as the control group who was taught the skills directly. Findings from the survey indicate that, students perceived that the pedagogy of PI has improved their language, communication and interpersonal skills, self-confidence, and also helped them to manage their own group discussion independently. Qualitative analysis from the assignments showed that the treatment group was able to apply more critical thinking skills in their answers as compared to the control group. In addition, the treatment group was inclined to raise more philosophical questions or higher order questions while the control group was inclined to raise more factual questions or lower order questions. In fact, analysis of the sixth session of the treatment group which was videotaped, revealed that the questions raised by the students were all philosophical questions. Findings from the interviews and journal entries of the treatment group, showed that through the process of dialogue and discussion among students, they felt that a change had occurred in their way of thinking. They learned how to express their views and how to support their arguments with good reasons and examples and at the same time they learned to organise their arguments more systematically. They were exposed to different perspectives given by others and consequently, they became more open. It improved their self-confidence especially in expressing their ideas openly in front of others.