SWOT ANALYSIS AS A TOOL FOR INVESTIGATING STUDENTS’ ANALYTICAL AND CRITICAL THINKING AND ARGUMENTATION IN GEOGRAPHY
Mariana-Doina CÎINEANU 
Nicolae Bălcescu National College, Brăila, Brăila County, ROMANIA.
Email: officeroseromania@gmail.com
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4120-5617
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to analyze the level of development of students’ analytical, critical, and evaluative thinking in the context of conducting a SWOT analysis in geography and to investigate the extent to which the use of a tabular support influences their performance. A total of 101 tenth-grade students participated in the research and were assigned to two experimental groups: GE1 (N = 51) and GE2 (N = 50). Each student was asked to select one county and, based on the tables and texts, to perform a SWOT analysis of the population in that county. Students in GE1 were given a table in which they were required to present, in written form, two strengths and two weaknesses of the population, as well as two opportunities and two threats (the latter referring to external factors). A SWOT-based assessment task was administered and evaluated using a scoring rubric. The results of this study indicate a low level of development of students’ analytical, critical, and evaluative thinking in the context of a SWOT analysis task. Most students experienced significant difficulties, particularly in argumentation, highlighting the need for systematic cognitive training. Although the use of tabular support facilitated response organization to some extent, it did not lead to significant differences in overall performance, suggesting that the development of higher-order thinking cannot be achieved through isolated interventions but requires coherent and sustained instructional efforts throughout geography education. Overall, the study underscores the importance of explicitly integrating critical thinking activities into geography teaching, as well as adopting an instructional approach centered on guidance, reflection, and argumentation.
KEYWORDS:
geographical thinking, demographic data, high school education, competence, relational thinking
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Cîineanu, M.-D. (2026). SWOT Analysis as a Tool for Investigating Students’ Analytical and Critical Thinking and Argumentation in Geography.Romanian Review of Geographical Education, 15(1), 61-70. http://doi.org/10.24193/RRGE20263