Effect of Inquiry-Based Learning on Critical Thinking Ability in an Ancient Chinese Literature Course

Background and Aims: Amid China's educational reforms, the traditional teaching of Ancient Chinese Literature often emphasizes memorization over critical thinking. Although Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) has proven effective in STEM, its application in humanities disciplines—particularly within vocational colleges—remains underexplored. This study examined Inquiry-Based Learning's (IBL) effectiveness by: 1) comparing students' critical thinking pre- and post-intervention, 2) evaluating whether outcomes met a 70% mastery criterion, and 3) assessing student satisfaction with IBL. The course context (History of Chinese Ancient Literature) is explicitly foregrounded to provide immediate disciplinary grounding. Methodology: This quasi-experimental study used a one-group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 50 second-year Chinese major students from Yunnan Economics Trade and Foreign Affairs College. The students’ critical thinking ability was assessed before and after the intervention using a Critical Thinking Ability Assessment Form based on Facione's (2015) framework. Quantitative data were analyzed using the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, paired-sample t-test, one-sample t-test, and Cohen’s d effect size. Results: 1) Post-intervention critical thinking scores (M = 70.08, SD = 4.53) were significantly higher than pre-intervention scores (M = 61.84, SD = 2.48), t(49) = 13.13, p < .001, with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.86). 2) Posttest scores significantly exceeded the 70% criterion (67.2), t(49) = 4.495, p < .001. 3) Overall satisfaction was very high (M = 4.56, SD = 0.13). Among the six critical thinking dimensions, Inference and Self-Regulation showed the most substantial gains, while Interpretation exhibited the smallest improvement. Conclusion: Inquiry-based learning effectively enhances critical thinking in vocational college students studying Ancient Chinese Literature, thereby filling a pedagogical gap in humanities education within the Chinese vocational context.