Published Paper Details:

The current study sought to look into the relationship of critical thinking abilities with achievement in biological science among IX standard students. It also aimed to compare achievement results across gender and school management type, including government, private aided as well as private unaided schools. The study employed a descriptive survey type. Simple random sampling was used to choose 198 IX standard pupils from schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka that followed the Karnataka State Syllabus. Data collection tools included the 'Critical Thinking Test in Biological Science' (CTT-BS) designed by Dr. P.B. Kavyakishore and a self-constructed 'Achievement Test in Biological Science' (ATBS) developed by the examiner and guide and the researcher collected the data personally and evaluated it using Pearson's correlation and independent samples 't' test in SPSS and MS Excel. The study finds that critical thinking ability is a significant relationship with achievement in biological science among IX standard students. It concludes that developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills improves students' understanding and performance in science related topics. Furthermore, the lack of significant gender inequalities demonstrates a progressive shift toward gender equality in secondary school science education. However, the higher performance of government school students compared to private school students is significant, implying that factors such as curriculum focus, teacher motivation and possibly teaching techniques may vary among school type, influencing learning results. The study emphasizes the need of developing critical thinking abilities in order to improve students' academic performance in scientific classes.