Reconstructing Higher-Order Thinking in Upper Secondary Chemistry Education: A Grounded-Theory-Informed Qualitative Content Analysis of Documentary Sources

Abstract

Current approaches to higher-order thinking (HOT) in chemistry education frequently rely on generic cognitive frameworks that do not fully capture the disciplinary features of chemical reasoning. To explore how HOT is conceptualized within chemistry education, this study employed a grounded-theory-informed qualitative content analysis of 229 documentary sources, including scholarly literature, curriculum and instructional materials, and exemplary teaching-case collections. The analysis yielded a document-derived seven-dimensional conceptual framework comprising Experimental Evidence Reasoning, Multilevel Systems Modeling, Multimodal Representation Translation, Multivariable Systems Reasoning, Interdisciplinary Integration and Transfer, Metacognitive Control, and Scientific Value Evaluation. Multilevel Systems Modeling was interpreted as the main organizing dimension on the basis of its relational breadth and integrative role within the documentary analysis. The framework provides a conceptual reconstruction of how higher-order cognitive demands are represented and organized within the analyzed chemistry-education discourse. As a context-sensitive and provisional conceptual resource, it may inform curriculum analysis and generate hypotheses for future learner- and classroom-based research; it should not be interpreted as an empirically validated model of students’ higher-order thinking.