TEACHERS PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF LITERARY TEXTS IN DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ILORIN SOUTH

This study examined teachers’ perspectives on the roles of literary texts in developing critical thinking skills among secondary school students in Ilorin South, Kwara State. The study determined teachers’ general perspectives and examined whether these perspectives differed on the basis of gender, educational qualification, and years of teaching experience. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised English Language and Literature teachers in secondary schools in Ilorin South Local Government Area, while a sample of 50 teachers was used for the study. Data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire titled Teachers’ Perspectives on Literary Texts and Critical Thinking Skills Questionnaire (TPLTCTSQ). The data collected were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation, while independent-samples t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that teachers’ perspectives on the roles of literary texts in developing critical thinking skills were positive, as 60% of the respondents indicated positive perspectives. The findings also showed that there was no significant difference in teachers’ perspectives based on gender and educational qualification, while a significant difference existed based on years of teaching experience. The study concluded that literary texts are useful tools for promoting analytical reasoning, interpretation, evaluation, and inference among secondary school students. It recommended that school administrators and the Ministry of Education should encourage teachers to use literary texts actively, provide adequate library resources, and organise regular workshops for teachers, especially experienced teachers, on modern learner-centred approaches to literature instruction.