Enhancing preservice chemistry teachers’ critical thinking through Inquiry-Based Instruction Integrated with Ethno-Socioscientific Issues

This study addresses how integrating Ethno-Socioscientific Issues (Ethno-SSI) into inquiry-based instruction can strengthen critical thinking in chemistry teacher education, particularly by linking local sociocultural contexts. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, we conducted a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study with 109 preservice chemistry teachers from a public university in East Java, Indonesia. The intervention group (n = 56) received an inquiry-based Ethno-SSI–integrated approach, whereas the comparison group (n = 53) received guided inquiry. Quantitative data were collected using a critical-thinking test aligned with Ennis’s indicators, and qualitative data were obtained from questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations to explain the quantitative trends. Test scores were examined using ANCOVA, and effect sizes were estimated using partial eta-squared. Results indicated a statistically significant and substantial effect of the Ethno-SSI–integrated inquiry instruction on critical thinking (F(1,77) = 64.596, p < .001, partial η2 = .456), with higher adjusted posttest means for the intervention group (M = 81.92) than the comparison group (M = 73.10). Qualitative findings corroborate these results, indicating that the Ethno-SSI context supports meaningful problem framing, evidence evaluation, and argumentation, thus encouraging more analytical and reflective reasoning. This study provides empirical support for the integrated investigation of Ethno-SSI as a pedagogical approach to enhance preservice chemistry teachers' critical thinking through evidence-based and culturally grounded chemical reasoning.