maryam omidinia

The present study examines critical thinking skills in novels for young adults، published in 2000s. The corpus of the study consisted of twelve novels for young adults، which were selected purposefully and as advised by 26 experts in children’s literature. The research used qualitative-inductive content analysis. The novels were analyzed based on Facione’s critical thinking skills، namely interpretation، analysis، evaluation، inference، explanation، and self-regulation. The acts and dialogues of characters were examined using the six critical thinking parameters described by Facione. The characters in the novel “the Persians and I: The Fortress of the Dragon 1”، had applied critical thinking skills more than those in other novels. Moreover، in all the examined novels، interpretation skill was used more than other skills of critical thinking. Next were analysis and explanation، respectively. Self-regulation and inference were both in the fourth rank with regard to their frequency. The skill of evaluation had the least frequency in the novels. The results of the study revealed that ordinary stories، when of proper literary quality، can be used for educational purposes.