Develop Model of Environmental Ethics Based on Caring Thinking through Critical Thinking for the Second Grade of High School Students in Hamadan

This study aimed to develop an environmental ethics model based on caring thinking through critical thinking of second-grade high school students in Hamadan. The research method was correlational and the data were collected by field method using with questionnaire. The statistical sample of the study included 986 second grade high school students in Hamadan who have been selected by simple random sampling. The measurement tools for data collection were Environmental Ethics Questionnaire, Caring Thinking Questionnaire, and Critical Thinking Questionnaire. The face validity of the questionnaires was approved by 15 faculty members of educational sciences. Also, their reliability was determined as α = 0.895, α = 0.915, and α = 0.923, respectively, by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for Environmental Ethics, Caring Thinking, and Critical Thinking Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling Method and utilizing SPSS and Smart PLS software. The results showed that the structural model of environmental ethics based on caring thinking has a good fit due to the critical thinking of second-grade high school students in Hamadan. According to this model, caring thinking, as well as critical thinking, have a significant effect on environmental ethics, but caring thinking does not have a significant effect on critical thinking. Therefore, it can be concluded that caring and critical thinking can be used to explain and predict the environmental ethics of second grade high school students.