Story Capacity in Strengthening Critical Thinking: Evaluate of Adolescent Stories from a Critical Thinking Perspective

Since the story is the main basis of thinking and communication, it is one of the tools for cultivating critical thinking. Therefore, we first explained the components of critical thinking and introduced the criteria for evaluating the story, using thematic analysis method, in this research. We then reviewed and evaluated 30 teen stories in the age group of 12 to 15 years, related to the years 90 to 98 in three categories: formal, elitist, and bestsellers so that we could identify stories that have intellectual content and those that have capacity to strengthen critical thinking. Evaluation criteria include questioning, reasoning, documentary judging, analysis, problem solving, empathy, philosophical theme, ethical digging, and purposeful dialogue. They are derived from the views of critical thinkers such as Chet Mcyers, Robert Fisher, Robert Annis, Richard Poul, and Peter Facione. The results of this study show that Only 40% of the stories in the elitist and bestsellers sections and 10% of the stories in the formal section have intellectual content and the capacity to strengthen critical thinking.