Abstract:

The objective of this research was to establish the correlation between the reasoning styles and critical thinking skills of pre-service teachers. The participants were undergraduate students from the first to fourth years of the Departments of Social Studies Education at two distinct state universities, studied during the 2021-2022 academic year. The research methodology implemented a correlational survey model, a quantitative approach, and the participant selection was based on criterion sampling, a form of purposive sampling. The "Reasoning Styles Scale" and the "Critical Thinking Tendency Scale" served as instruments for data collection, determining pre-service teachers' reasoning styles and critical thinking skills, respectively. The findings suggest a moderately positive and significant correlation between pre-service teachers' reasoning styles and their critical thinking skills. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated that their reasoning styles considerably predict their critical thinking skills. Another finding of the study was that the reasoning styles and critical thinking skills of the pre-service social studies teachers did not differ based on gender or grade level. However, it was determined that critical thinking skills change according to the variable of frequency of reading books. In light of these findings, it is recommended to undertake qualitative studies to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the correlation between pre-service social studies teachers' reasoning styles and critical thinking skills.

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