Evaluation of the Level of Selected Inquiry Skills Among Grammar School Students

Abstract Teachers should lead students to inquiry and discover the world around them. For this reason, it is essential that students possess inquiry skills that will enable them to investigate inquiry processes and carry out inquiry activities. Although the development of inquiry skills is essential part of Slovak state curriculum, the administered test showed a relatively low level of inquiry skills among Slovak grammar school students (16–19 years old), especially in the skills of identifying variables, formulating hypotheses, determining the accuracy of experimentally obtained data, and understanding the elements of inquiry. The results indicate that the students’ future professional orientation has a relatively significant influence on their level of inquiry skills which are not systematically developed in individual years of study. It is necessary to implement inquiry activities in the education process that will enable students to develop their skills throughout their entire grammar school studies, regardless of their future professional orientation.