Students Critical Thinking Skills in Physical Education Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze the level of students’ critical thinking skills in the context of physical education learning, as well as to explore how these skills are cultivated through instructional design. The research utilized a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, employing the Publish or Perish application and sourcing articles from Google Scholar. The review process followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol to ensure a rigorous and transparent selection methodology. From an initial pool of 135 relevant articles, classification was performed based on relevance to the topic of critical thinking, yielding 31 articles across 8 thematic categories, of which 16 specifically addressed critical thinking in physical education. Following a detailed inclusion and exclusion process, 2 articles were identified as meeting all criteria for in-depth analysis. The findings suggest that students exhibit strong critical thinking abilities, particularly in cognitive organizing processes that emphasize problem-solving. Instructional approaches that integrate critical thinking into physical education empower students to analyze, evaluate, and make informed decisions about real-world situations. Moreover, teachers play a crucial role by designing learning experiences that involve authentic problem scenarios, thereby fostering students’ analytical and evaluative capacities within the framework of physical education. These insights underscore the importance of embedding critical thinking within curriculum design to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.