Enhancing Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Scientific Literacy Skills through STEM-PjBL: Evidence from South Global Elementary Students

Haerul Salam; Fatchur Rohman; Aynin Mashfufah

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2026) IEJEE

Enhancing Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Scientific Literacy Skills through STEM-PjBL: Evidence from South Global Elementary Students

Haerul Salam
Fatchur Rohman
Aynin Mashfufah

Published June 5, 2026 | Pages: 533-546 | Views: 229

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Abstract

The development of higher-order thinking skills and scientific literacy is a central goal of contemporary science education, particularly in the Global South where instructional innovation is unevenly implemented. This study examined the effectiveness of STEM-based Project-Based Learning (STEM-PjBL) in improving elementary students’ critical thinking, creative thinking, and scientific literacy. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was applied, involving experimental (STEM-PjBL) and control (conventional instruction) groups. Data were analyzed using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches, including Bayesian ANCOVA and Bayesian regression, to provide robust evidence of instructional effects. The findings indicated that students in the STEM-PjBL group showed significantly greater gains in all measured outcomes. Bayesian ANCOVA revealed very strong evidence for the effect of STEM-PjBL on critical thinking (BF = 15.15) and strong evidence on creative thinking (BF = 5.28). However, the direct effect on scientific literacy was weaker. Further Bayesian regression analysis showed that scientific literacy was best predicted by the combined contribution of critical and creative thinking (BF = 6.01), accounting for 51.2% of the variance. These results suggest that scientific literacy is primarily developed indirectly through the enhancement of higher-order thinking skills. Overall, STEM-PjBL emerges as a transformative instructional approach that promotes deeper cognitive development and supports meaningful science learning in Global South contexts.

<p>The development of higher-order thinking skills and scientific literacy is a central goal of contemporary science education, particularly in the Global South where instructional innovation is unevenly implemented. This study examined the effectiveness of STEM-based Project-Based Learning (STEM-PjBL) in improving elementary students’ critical thinking, creative thinking, and scientific literacy. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was applied, involving experimental (STEM-PjBL) and control (conventional instruction) groups. Data were analyzed using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches, including Bayesian ANCOVA and Bayesian regression, to provide robust evidence of instructional effects. The findings indicated that students in the STEM-PjBL group showed significantly greater gains in all measured outcomes. Bayesian ANCOVA revealed very strong evidence for the effect of STEM-PjBL on critical thinking (BF = 15.15) and strong evidence on creative thinking (BF = 5.28). However, the direct effect on scientific literacy was weaker. Further Bayesian regression analysis showed that scientific literacy was best predicted by the combined contribution of critical and creative thinking (BF = 6.01), accounting for 51.2% of the variance. These results suggest that scientific literacy is primarily developed indirectly through the enhancement of higher-order thinking skills. Overall, STEM-PjBL emerges as a transformative instructional approach that promotes deeper cognitive development and supports meaningful science learning in Global South contexts.</p>

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Keywords

STEM approach, PjBL learning, Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Science literacy

Affiliations

Haerul Salam

Basic Education, School of Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia

Fatchur Rohman

Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang

Aynin Mashfufah

Basic Education, School of Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

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Salam, H., Rohman, F., & Mashfufah , A. (2026). Enhancing Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Scientific Literacy Skills through STEM-PjBL: Evidence from South Global Elementary Students. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 18(4), 533–546. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/2692