Fostering pre-service teachers' critical and creative thinking dispositions through Literature Circles: a mixed-methods study

Abstract

This study examined the impact of literature circles on pre-service teachers’ critical and creative thinking dispositions and to evaluate the practical significance of this method in terms of teacher education. During the first semester of the 2023–2024 academic year, 25 pre-service teachers were instructed to read assigned weekly short stories in accordance with the literature circle method and to discuss them collaboratively. The study evaluated the impacts of literature circles on critical and creative thinking within a single group, and the findings indicated a statistically significant difference in favour of the post-test results. Moreover, it was concluded that literature circles have considerable potential for enhancing skills, including textual analysis, evaluation of diverse perspectives, generation of critical and creative solutions, and thinking beyond conventional patterns. The integration of this method into teacher education programmes can facilitate the systematic development of critical and creative thinking skills among pre-service teachers.