The Heutagogy and Its Effect on Learners Critical Thinking Skills

This study aimed to determine the level of heutagogy practice and its effect on learners’ critical thinking skills. Specifically, it examined the implementation of heutagogical approaches among teachers and their relationship with learners’ critical thinking abilities. The study employed a descriptive–correlational research design, which is appropriate for assessing both the level of heutagogy practice and its relationship with learners’ critical thinking skills. Data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to teacher respondents. The results revealed that the respondents were predominantly aged 31–40 years (42.0%) and largely female (72.0%), indicating a middle-aged and female-majority sample. In terms of teaching experience, most participants had 1-20 years of service, with 31.2% having 1–10 years and 28.0% having 11–20 years, reflecting a balance of early- and mid-career educators. Regarding professional development, nearly half of the respondents attended district-level trainings (46.5%), while participation in school-based, national, and international trainings was comparatively lower. This finding suggests that teachers’ professional growth mainly occurs through locally accessible programs. Furthermore, the level of heutagogy practice in terms of learner autonomy and collaborative learning was interpreted as very high. Meanwhile, the effect on learners’ critical thinking skills was high in analysis and moderate in evaluation. The findings also revealed no significant relationship between respondents’ demographic profile and either heutagogy practice or learners’ critical thinking skills. Similarly, no significant relationship was found between heutagogy practice and learners’ critical thinking skills. These findings suggest that schools may expand professional development opportunities beyond the district level and encourage teachers to integrate explicit critical thinking instruction alongside heutagogical strategies to strengthen learners’ higher-order thinking skills further.