Facilitating parental engagement in school mathematics and science through inquiry-based learning: an examination of teachers’ and parents’ beliefs

Abstract

This study examined teachers’ and parents’ beliefs on the implementation of inquiry-based modeling activities as a means to facilitate parental engagement in school mathematics and science. The study had three objectives: (a) to describe teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based mathematics and science and parental engagement; (b) to describe parents’ beliefs about inquiry-based mathematics and science and their engagement in inquiry-based problem solving; and (c) to explore the impact of an inquiry-based learning environment comprising a model-eliciting activity and Twitter. The research involved three sixth-grade teachers and 32 parents from one elementary school. Teachers and parents participated in workshops, followed by the implementation of a model-eliciting activity in two classrooms. Three teachers and six parents participated in semi-structured interviews. Teachers reported positive beliefs on parental engagement in the mathematics and science classrooms and the potential positive role of parents in implementing innovative problem-solving activities. Parents expressed strong beliefs on their engagement and welcomed the inquiry-based modeling approach. Based on the results of this aspect of a four-year longitudinal design, implications for parental engagement in inquiry-based mathematics and science teaching and learning and further research are discussed.