Abstract
BackgroundThe recommendation from national documents and reports to promote inquiry-related science activities has not been supported by recent studies, which have found the overall frequency of inquiry activities to be negatively associated with student learning outcomes. This study was inspired by such conflicting reports and aimed to clarify the associations of science-specific, inquiry-related activities and epistemological beliefs with students’ mathematical and scientific literacies.ResultsA secondary analysis of the database from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2015 of Australia (N1 = 14,530) and Taiwan (N2 = 7708) utilizing structural equation modelling revealed that these two countries exhibited similar data patterns. Results suggested that open-inquiry activities (such as debating and planning experiments) had a negative relationship with secondary students’ mathematical and scientific literacies. Structured inquiry learning (such as students explaining their ideas and teacher explaining how an idea can be applied to different phenomena) and epistemological beliefs about science were significant and positive predictors of student mathematical and scientific literacy performance.ConclusionsThe current study further highlights and provides empirical evidence that the teacher’s role in structured inquiry (especially pertaining to the relevance and applicability of these ideas) appears to be essential to the development of student literacy. Educational implications and recommendations are discussed.
Highlights
Research studies and policy documents have emphasized the importance of promoting inquiry learning so that students can practice problem-solving competency and skills for their future lives rather than receiving scientific knowledge directly from science teachers (Jerrim et al., 2019; National Research Council USA [NRC], 2012)
Hypothetical model to be tested Drawing from the review of literature and theoretical foundations (e.g., Schommer, 1993) discussed earlier, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among participants’ inquiry-related learning activities, epistemological beliefs, and scientific and mathematical competencies (Fig. 1)
The Wright maps were used to present how Australian and Taiwanese students show their frequency of experience or attitude
Summary
Research studies and policy documents have emphasized the importance of promoting inquiry learning so that students can practice problem-solving competency and skills for their future lives rather than receiving scientific knowledge directly from science teachers (Jerrim et al., 2019; National Research Council USA [NRC], 2012). Mathematical inquiry has received less research attention than scientific inquiry and its definition demonstrates little consensus. The recommendation from national documents and reports to promote inquiry-related science activi‐ ties has not been supported by recent studies, which have found the overall frequency of inquiry activities to be negatively associated with student learning outcomes. This study was inspired by such conflicting reports and aimed to clarify the associations of science-specific, inquiry-related activities and epistemological beliefs with students’ math‐ ematical and scientific literacies
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