Assessing the Impact of Multidisciplinary Curricula on Critical thinking skills in Secondary Education in Anambra and Enugu States

Developing critical thinking skills among secondary school students remains a major educational challenge in Nigeria, where traditional subject-based curricula often limit interdisciplinary learning. Multidisciplinary curricula have been proposed as a strategy to enhance students’ analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities by integrating content across subjects. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive survey design and was conducted in Anambra and Enugu States, Nigeria. The population comprised teachers and senior secondary school students in public secondary schools. A sample of 500 respondents was selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a validated structured questionnaire with Likert-scale items. Questionnaires were administered directly to respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and simple linear regression with SPSS at the 0.05 significance level. The results show that the respondents comprised teachers (294) representing (58.8%) and students (206) representing (41.2%), with participants drawn from Anambra State (299; 59.8%) and Enugu State (201; 40.2%). Findings on multidisciplinary approaches revealed higher mean usage in Enugu (2.79–3.52) compared to Anambra (1.51–3.42). Contextual factors such as training, leadership support, and resources recorded moderate to high mean scores across both states (2.98–3.31). Independent t-tests indicated significant differences in instructional approaches (t = −8.655; p < .05) and contextual factors (t = −5.352; p < .05). Regression analysis showed that multidisciplinary approaches significantly predicted students’ critical thinking skills (R² = .385; F = 311.761; p < .05). The study concludes that multidisciplinary curricula effectively enhance critical thinking and should be strengthened through improved teacher capacity and institutional support. Findings from the study would be generalized to the entire south east, Nigeria.