From Inquiry‐Based Science Teaching to Science Career Aspirations: Unequal Motivational Pathways in Western China

ABSTRACT Guided by situated expectancy‐value theory (SEVT), this study examines how inquiry‐based science teaching (IBST) shapes students’ science career aspirations (SCA) via motivational beliefs—science self‐efficacy (SSE), intrinsic value (IV), and utility value (UV)—across gender and ethnic groups in western China. We analyzed matched teacher‐student data ( N = 4154 students, 222 teachers) using a 2‐1‐1 multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM). For male students, IBST was linked to SCA indirectly via IV and SSE, consistent with a canonical SEVT activation pathway. For female students, IBST showed a significant direct effect on SCA but no indirect effects via IV, UV, or SSE, suggesting additional social–contextual mechanisms not captured here. By ethnicity, Han students exhibited no significant IBST → SCA paths, whereas Tibetan students showed both a direct IBST → SCA link and an IV‐mediated pathway, indicating that IV functions as a resilience mechanism under structural constraints. Uyghur students exhibited both direct and IV/SSE‐mediated effects, reflecting an integrated instruction–motivation–aspiration pathway. Overall, the findings extend SEVT by foregrounding pathway heterogeneity across sociocultural groups and underscore the value of equity‐oriented, culturally responsive IBST that attends to how instructional practices interact with contextually situated belief systems to shape science career trajectories.