Introduction
Amajor sector in any country is the education system, the importance of which has caused planners and policymakers to consider it as the foundation of the development of societies [1]. Since the majority of society is comprised of students [2], enhancing students’ intellectual skills is a major goal of this system in different countries [3]. Poor thinking and analysis along with incorrect judgment of the opinions and information available in today’s world, are some of the existing issues facing students [4]. Relying solely on memorizing content and recalling information—both relevant and irrelevant to real life—can waste resources and opportunities. To cultivate a dynamic and active generation, we can transform the ways of thinking about ourselves and society through education [5, 6]. In this regard, teaching critical thinking skills helps solve problems and resolve life issues [7]. Critical thinking is a cognitive process, through which an individual makes appropriate judgment and decision to solve problems through examining the reasons, analyzing the available information, and drawing conclusions [8]. Possessing this skill helps search for the truth in the false information received every day and achieve a sound knowledge of the existing issues. According to Zhang and Kim, students currently exhibit an unfavorable level of critical thinking tendency [9]. 
Studies have shown that mothers are the key and influential factor affecting the social, academic, and emotional performance of children [10, 11]. Therefore, teaching critical thinking skills to mothers improves their social abilities. It also affects children’s social and emotional health, enabling them to learn constructively and make progress [12]. The results of different studies show that critical thinking skills can be improved through education [13-15]. An important aspect of educational interventions in this context is the emphasis on self-efficacy theory [16]. The self-efficacy construct, proposed by Bandura in social-cognitive theory, is defined as an individual’s belief in his or her abilities to perform a behavior. Perceived self-efficacy reduces the fear of failure and increases one’s motivation to achieve success [17]. There is a significant and positive relationship between self-efficacy and critical thinking. Thus, with an increase in self-efficacy, critical thinking also tends to improve [18, 19]. Taghva et al. and Qiang et al. showed that an increase in self-efficacy is associated with an increase in critical thinking [18, 19]. 
To our knowledge, no study has yet investigated the role of mothers as a key and influential factor in the health of family members, especially children, and their critical thinking. Addressing this issue and implementing practical interventions and policies can empower students as the future builders of society. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the impact of teaching critical thinking skills to mothers using self-efficacy strategies on the critical thinking of their daughters in Esfarayen, Iran.

Methods

Design of study 
The present quasi-experimental study included the control and intervention groups, and was conducted to educate mothers as a mediating factor influencing their daughters’ behavior in 2023 in Esfarayen. Also, the effectiveness of educational interventions was assessed based on feedback from their daughters. 

Participants and sampling
The sample size, based on Yousefi and Bagherpour’s study, was estimated at 26 for each group, using a 95% confidence interval and a test power of 80%. Considering a potential attrition rate of 20%, the final sample size was set at 40 in each group [20]. 
Mothers were selected and included in the study using a multi-stage randomized sampling method. Girls were selected from the first cycle of secondary schools (according to the current education system of Iran). Then, two schools were selected randomly by drawing lots, considering the social and economic similarities, as well as ensuring the schools were located at an acceptable geographical distance from one another. The schools were then divided into intervention and control groups. Subsequently, eligible mothers were selected from each school to participate in the study. 
The inclusion criteria were mothers with at least secondary education, daughters in the first grade of high school, signing informed consent letters, and no history of mental illnesses. The exclusion criteria were unwillingness to participate in the study and the occurrence of unfortunate events during the study (such as the mother’s illness, etc). 
The female students in both groups completed the questionnaires in three stages: Before, immediately after, and three months after the educational intervention. The questionnaires were completed in approximately 40 minutes in the presence of the researcher. The researcher’s presence was necessary to answer the respondents’ questions, emphasize the importance of providing honest answers, and ensure that no questions were missed. 

Instrumentation
Data were collected using a tripartite questionnaire that included a demographic section, a critical thinking section, and a section on self-efficacy.
The first section enquired about demographic information (six questions), which included the mother’s age, the girl’s age, the father’s education level, the mother’s education level, the father’s occupation, and the mother’s occupation. The second section of the questionnaire included questions related to critical thinking, for which the Ricketts’ critical thinking questionnaire was used [21]. It contained 33 items divided into three subscales. The subscales were as follows: The creativity scale (11 questions, exemplified by “I always believe there is more to learn”), cognitive maturity (nine questions, exemplified by “I am confident that I can reach a favorable conclusion”), and commitment (13 questions, exemplified by “I focus on working on something until I find it working correctly”). each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, uncertain, agree, and strongly agree). The sum of the scores of all items in each subscale was considered the total score for that sub-scale. The final score ranged between 33 and 165, with low scores indicating poor critical thinking and vice versa. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by Pakmehr et al. Thus, to substantiate validity in the research, the correlation coefficients between the scores on two occasions, i.e. test and re-test for boys, girls, and participants, and the total score were estimated, were estimated at r=0.77, r=0.88, and r=0.67, respectively [22]. The reliability was also established by Eizadifard using Cronbach’s α for the entire questionnaire, which was found to be 0.94 [23]. 
The third section of the questionnaire contained questions related to the self-efficacy theory. For this purpose, Morris’ self-efficacy questionnaire was used [24]. This questionnaire contained 23 items divided into three subscales, including social self-efficacy (eight questions, exemplified by “How well can you express your opinion when other classmates disagree with you?”), academic self-efficacy (eight items, exemplified by “How well do you manage to do your homework every day?”) and emotional self-efficacy (seven items, exemplified by “How well can you cheer yourself up when something unpleasant happens?). In this questionnaire, each question was rated on a five-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, uncertain, agree, and strongly agree). The sum of the scores of each subscale was considered the total score; thus, the final score ranged between 23 and 115. Low scores indicated poor self-efficacy and vice versa. The validity of the questionnaire was tested by Habibi et al. across academic, social, and emotional dimensions, with correlation coefficients for the total score with the subscales being 0.7, 0.73, and 0.83, respectively. The reliability was estimated at 0.89 for the whole scale [25]. 

Educational intervention
In this study, mothers first signed the informed consent letter. After collecting data from the participants of the intervention and control groups (their daughters), before the intervention and its analysis, five educational sessions were organized for the mothers of the intervention group based on the needs assessment. According to a similar study [26], educational sessions were held for 50 minute at school. We used methods, such as brainstorming, group discussion, and Q&A sessions to improve critical thinking in three areas (creativity, cognitive maturity, and commitment). Group discussion was also used to improve self-efficacy in three areas (social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, and emotional self-efficacy). To improve self-efficacy, four effective factors were considered in educational sessions. These included verbal encouragement, alternative experiences, previous failures and successes, and physical and emotional states. The scientific content of educational sessions was evaluated and approved by two experts: The thinking and research teacher in the selected schools and a health education expert. 

Data analysis and statistical tests
Data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 26. The normality of data distribution was checked using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Mean±SD were used to describe interval data, and frequency and percentage were used to describe non-interval data. Interval data in both groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and Friedman test according to the normality of data. Also, to compare non-interval data in both groups, the chi-square test was used. The significance level was set at 0.05 for all tests. 

Results
The mean age of mothers in the intervention group was 36.5±6.3 years, while in the control group it was 34.7±6.2 years. The mean age of daughters in the intervention group was 14.5±5.37 years, while in the control group it was 14.37±5.57 years. Most fathers in the intervention group (45%) held a diploma. In the control group (50%) most fathers held a degree below diploma. Most mothers in the intervention and control groups held a degree below diploma (45% and 50%, respectively). In the intervention and control groups, 85% and 87.5% of fathers were non-employees, respectively. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic variables (P>0.05) (Table 1). 



Table 2 shows that the mean score of creativity increased significantly immediately after the intervention in the intervention and control groups (P<0.05). Also, the mean score of creativity decreased significantly three months after the intervention in the control group (P<0.05). The intra-group test revealed that the mean score of creativity exhibited a statistically significant difference across the three time periods in both the intervention and control groups (P<0.05). 
The mean score of cognitive maturity showed an increasing trend immediately after the intervention in the intervention and control groups (P<0.05). The intra-group test showed that the mean score of cognitive maturity showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups across the three time periods (P<0.05) (Table 2). 



The mean score of commitment showed an increasing trend immediately after the intervention in the intervention group (P<0.05). However, in the control group, there was a significant decrease immediately after and three months following the intervention (P<0.05). The intra-group test indicated that the mean score of commitment showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups across the three time periods of the study (P<0.05) (Table 2). 
Table 2 shows that the mean score of total critical thinking had a significant increase in the groups immediately after and three months after the intervention compared to before the intervention (P<0.05). Also, the intra-group test showed that this increasing trend was statistically significant in intervention and control groups (P<0.05). 
The mean score of social self-efficacy showed a significant increase in both groups immediately after the intervention (P<0.05). In the control group, there was a significant decrease three months after the intervention. The intra-group test showed that the mean score of social self-efficacy exhibited a statistically significant difference across the three time periods in both the intervention and control groups (P<0.05) (Table 3). 



Table 3 shows that the mean score of academic self-efficacy had a significant increase in the intervention group twice: Once immediately after the intervention and again three months after the intervention (P<0.05). Moreover, the mean score of academic self-efficacy in the control group increased significantly immediately after the intervention (P<0.05). However, three months after the intervention, a significant decrease was observed (P<0.05). The intra-group test indicated that the mean score of academic self-efficacy across the three time periods in both groups exhibited a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). 
The mean score of emotional self-efficacy demonstrated a significant increasing trend in both groups immediately after the intervention and three months following the intervention (P<0.05). Also, the intra-group test showed that this increasing trend was statistically significant in intervention and control groups (P<0.05) (Table 3). 
The mean score of total self-efficacy showed a significant increasing trend in both groups immediately after and three months after the intervention (P<0.05). Also, the intra-group test showed that this increasing trend was statistically significant in both groups (P<0.05) (Table 3). 

Discussion
The findings of the present study showed that mothers play an effective role in improving their daughters’ critical thinking skills. NikPay et al. demonstrated in their study of secondary school girls in the second period of Khorram Abad City that teaching learning strategies based on self-regulation theory is effective in enhancing female students’ critical thinking [27]. It can be argued that self-regulation plays a significant role in controlling an individual’s internal state to achieve higher goals and emphasizes the individual’s responsibility to guide her continuous efforts toward achieving those goals [27]. The results of Mozaffari et al.‘s study of female students aged 15 to 18 in Tehran showed that education based on the Poual-Elder model is effective in improving the critical thinking skills of female students [13]. One reason for the effectiveness of this model was the active participation of students in educational sessions, as active participation facilitates the transfer of ideas and is a key factor in enhancing critical thinking [13]. Also, in the study by Samiee et al. on secondary school girls in Tehran, the results showed that education based on self-regulation theory is effective in improving students’ critical thinking skills [15]. 
Arguably, in the process of self-regulation, students set goals and self-assess for their courses according to their learning stages. Therefore, this is an effective factor in developing critical thinking in students [15]. Liu and Pasztor showed that problem-solving-based education is effective in improving students’ critical thinking skills [28]. In this educational method, by engaging in the problem-solving process, students acquire skills in how to obtain information to solve a problem, which effectively improves their critical thinking [28]. In a study by Hacioğlu and Gülhan et al. on middle school students, education based on the STEM model improved critical thinking skills in students [29]. This improvement is attributed to the use of this model, which increases students’ creativity in providing suitable solutions for problem-solving; increasing creativity is a key factor in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills [29]. All these findings [13, 15, 27-29] are in line with the results of the present study, which ultimately led to the improvement of critical thinking in adolescent girls. Critical thinking skills allow people to think clearly and objectively about issues [13]. This ability is considered important for making effective decisions [19]. Therefore, this skill is important not only during school but throughout one’s life. While other studies have directly addressed the effect of the educational process on critical thinking [19], in the present study, mothers participated in educational sessions as mediators and effective factors in improving life skills, including critical thinking skills in children. The content of the educational sessions was conveyed by the mothers to their daughters, and the extent of improvement in their daughters’ critical thinking skills was investigated. The results confirmed the effectiveness of this process. 
In this research, the effect of education based on the self-efficacy theory was tested, and the results showed improvements in social, academic, and emotional self-efficacy, as well as the total score of self-efficacy in the intervention group. The results of Jafari and Peyman’s study on second-year high school female students showed that education based on self-efficacy theory is effective in stress management of female students [30]. It can be argued that people who have high self-efficacy can effectively deal with emotionally destructive events, including stressful events [30]. Khoy Nejad et al. also showed in their study on second-year high school boys in Mashhad that education based on self-efficacy reduced academic harm and increased academic success [31]. It can be argued that high self-efficacy is associated with mental peace in confrontation with difficult tasks [31]. Kooshki et al. assessed female students in the first cycle of secondary school in Mamulan (Khorramabad) and showed that the self-efficacy theory-based assessment is effective in reducing academic stress and improving students’ social skills [32]. Arguably, when students believe in their ability to plan lessons and complete homework, this can foster effort and motivation, leading them to perform their tasks regularly and reducing academic stress. 
Self-efficacy provides a sense of self-confidence, which can create a desire to establish social interactions and improve an individual’s social skills [32]. Yedemie showed that education based on self-efficacy theory is effective in improving students’ psychological performance. Among the reasons for this effect, group discussion sessions utilizing self-efficacy theory to share positive experiences in emotion regulation can be highlighted [33]. Schönfeld et al. showed that education based on self-efficacy theory is effective in reducing daily stress in German students [34]. One reason for this effect may be the use of self-efficacy strategies and a focus on the positive attributes an individual possesses when completing tasks [34]. These findings [30-34] are in line with the results of the present study, showing an improvement in self-efficacy in adolescent girls. The results show that self-efficacy plays an important role in people’s performance and belief [34, 35], and it can increase motivation and effort to achieve success [33]. If people believe in their abilities to succeed, their self-confidence and motivation will increase; therefore, self-efficacy is considered one of the most effective human characteristics [33]. The self-efficacy component provides students with a strong sense of self-confidence and helps them assess their skills and plan lessons to effectively demonstrate their ability to perform assigned tasks [35]. 
Self-efficacy plays a key role in improving an individual’s belief in their necessary abilities to complete related tasks. Mothers also play a key role in the family, as they can see themselves as effective role models and teachers for their children. Girls tend to bond well with their mothers; therefore, education based on self-efficacy theory that involves mothers can significantly impact the improvement of their daughters’ critical thinking skills. 

Conclusion
Educating mothers based on self-efficacy theory improved critical thinking skills in their daughters. Therefore, in teaching life skills, especially critical thinking skills, self-efficacy strategies can be used, especially to improve mental and physical states, with an emphasis on reducing stress and creating positive mental states. Having the appropriate skills to manage stress is crucial for making sound decisions, especially in emotional situations. Therefore, it is recommended that education policymakers implement comprehensive educational programs for parents, particularly mothers, to improve life skills, including the critical thinking skills of their children (both boys and girls).

Limitations of study
One limitation of this study is that the intervention was carried out solely with mothers of female students in the first grade of high school; therefore, it is suggested that a similar study be carried out with mothers of male students at the high school level. Self-reporting was another limitation of this study. 

Ethical Considerations

Compliance with ethical guidelines
The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (IR.MUMS.FHMPM.REC.1402.029). All mothers were assured that participation in the study was voluntary and that they could withdraw from the study at any time. They were informed that the details of information contained in the questionnaires were confidential. To respect human rights, after collecting data three months after the intervention, the subjects in the control group received all educational materials in the format of pamphlets and videos. 

Funding
This research was supported by the Research Vice-Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization: Nooshin Peyman, Melika Babaei, and Fatemeh Goldani Mohghaddam; Data curation: Melika Babaei; Methodology: Melika Babaei, Fatemeh Goldani Mohghaddam; Project administration: Nooshin Peyman, and Fatemeh Goldani Mohghaddam; Formal analysis: Saeed Akhlaghi; Visualization and writing: Nooshin Peyman, Melika Babaei, Fatemeh Goldani Mohghaddam, and Saeed Akhlaghi. 

Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The researchers would like to express their gratitude to the Research Vice-Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for financial support of this study, to the staff of Kamal Tarbiat and Umm Al-Aima schools in Esfarayen, and to all participants for their cooperation. 





References