An examination of analytical thinking proficiency: A comparative study of high school student' engagement in active sports versus non-participation
Thesis Type: Postgraduate
Institution Of The Thesis: Ataturk University, Turkey
Approval Date: 2025
Thesis Language: Turkish
Student: NURSEL EYGİ TÜRK
Supervisor: Fatih Kıyıcı
Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to examine and compare the analytical thinking levels of high school students who actively participate in sports and those who do not. In this study, the "Analytical Thinking Scale for High School Students" was used as the data collection instrument in the researcher's survey form. The research data was collected from randomly selected high school students. Within this scope, high school students, both those who engage in sports and those who do not, evaluated and completed the survey forms themselves.To identify the independent variables in the study, demographic questions indicating "gender, grade level, and active participation in sports as a licensed athlete" were added at the beginning of the scale. The Analytical Thinking Scale for High School Students consists of 24 items in a 5-point Likert format and has four sub-dimensions. The minimum possible score from the scale is 24, while the maximum is 120. For data analysis, quantitative data analysis methods were employed using the SPSS program. The significance level was set at p < 0.05 when interpreting the analyses. Findings: The results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between analytical thinking skills and the gender variable among high school students. While no significant differences were found between students who engage in sports and those who do not in the sub-dimensions of assimilating information, attention to details, and study strategy; a significant difference was observed in the information analysis sub-dimension (p = 0.026). Significant differences were found among students from different grade levels in the sub-dimensions of assimilating information (p = 0.003), attention to details (p = 0.002), information analysis (p = 0.003), and study strategy (p < 0.001) . The study concluded that high school students who actively participate in sports demonstrate higher levels of analytical thinking skills compared to those who do not engage in sports. Keywords: analytical thinking, sports, high school students.