Physics teachers’ views of inquiry and classroom practices

Inquiry-based instruction has been suggested and practiced in national and international reports on science education. Scientific inquiry aims to enhance learners’ engagement in doing science through exploration including asking questions, data collection and analysis, and constructing explanations in an iterative process. One of the crucial problems in science education is whether science teachers integrate their views about inquiry into teaching practices. This study examines 30 experienced high school physics teachers’ views about inquiry and their classroom practices. The mixed methods design explored physics teachers’ views through semi-structured interviews and classroom practices through classroom observations conducted by observation protocols. The results showed less agreement between teachers’ views and practices; teachers tended to teach in traditional ways through lecturing although they possessed transitional or constructivist views of inquiry. The results offer science educators further insight into the relationship between views and practices to design and conduct professional development programs.