Abstract

This study explores urban secondary teachers’ perception of how prepared they are to teach science through inquiry-based strategy. It was conducted against the backdrop of recent calls by the National Research Council (NRC) to restructure the way science is taught. Results described in this paper are based on data collected through a Likert scale questionnaire administered to 39 practicing science teachers. The questionnaire provided both quantitative and qualitative data. Analysis of data showed that the majority (78%) of the teachers surveyed believed that they had the knowledge and skill required to teach science through inquiry. Their responses to open ended survey questions indicated something different. Only 13% of the teachers were able to list the elements of inquiry-based science instruction which raised the question about what they actually perceived as knowledge and skills of inquiry-based instruction.  These differences are discussed in this paper.  Implications for teacher preparation to instruct in an inquiry fashion are also presented.

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