The Effectiveness of the Mawhiba Program for the Development of Critical Thinking Skills among Gifted Female Students at the Secondary Levels
Amani K. Hamdan Alghamdi *
College of Education, University of Dammam, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Neama Abdul Salam Hassan
College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Suez, Suez, Egypt.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study explores the effectiveness of the Mawhiba (Giftedness) program in developing critical-thinking skills in students in Saudi Arabia. This quantitative study involved the assessment of 30 gifted female secondary-school students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia who participated in the Mawhiba program. The Critical Thinking test used in this study, prepared by Jabir Abdulhameed Jabir and Ahlam Al-Baz [1], is designed to measure critical-thinking skills. The results indicate that these students began to ability to enhance their ability to think critically after attending the five-week intensive training course. Furthermore, this study illustrates how critical thinking could be developed to supplement academic programs with reasonable levels of success. Saudi policymakers, teachers and faculty members should consider finding and refining ways to improve critical-thinking skills in female students as part of the university environment and in order to support and capitalise upon the learning that happens beyond the conventional classroom. In addition, this study illustrates how critical thinking could be developed to supplement academic programs.
Keywords: Effectiveness critical thinking, critical-thinking skills, development of critical thinking, Mawhiba, gifted students, Saudi Arabia.