The Effectiveness of The Debate Strategy in Developing Academic Achievement and Critical Thinking Skills Among 9th Grade Female Students in Hail, Saudi Arabia

This study examined the effectiveness of the debate strategy in developing academic achievement and critical thinking skills when teaching the Arabic language curriculum for middle school students in Hail. The study sample was taken from the 9^th grade students in Hail in Saudi Arabia. A total of 52 students from two different schools were selected: 26 as a control group and 26 as a pilot group. Research tools consisted of an attainment test, a test to learn how to apply critical thinking skills to the Arabic language curriculum, and a teacher's guide to teaching the Arabic language curriculum using the corresponding strategy. The results showed the superiority of the debate strategy over the traditional method in motivating the students' use of critical thinking skills. It was also observed that the debate strategy stimulated the mental processes that raise higher thinking processes that lead to critical thinking. The study recommends using the debate strategy when teaching the Arabic curriculum to middle-school students. It also highlights the need to raise teachers' awareness of the importance of teaching critical thinking skills. Given the results and recommendations of the research, the researcher recommends several other ways of research related to current research variables.