The Relationship between Teachers’ Knowledge and Beliefs about Science and Inquiry and Their Classroom Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between teachers' attitudes toward science, knowledge and beliefs about inquiry, and science classroom teaching practices. Specifically, the study addressed three questions: What are teachers’ beliefs and knowledge about inquiry? What are teachers’ teaching related classroom practices? Do teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about inquiry relate to their science classroom practices? The sample consisted of 34 teachers drawn randomly from schools in the city of Lebanon. To answer the first question, teachers responded to two questionnaires: Views of Science Inquiry which gauged teachers’ views about science and how science is conducted and Attitudes and Beliefs about the Nature of and the Teaching of Science which measured teacher's attitudes and beliefs about the nature of and the teaching of science. To answer the second question, classroom observations documented actual teaching practices. Results from the questionnaires and the observation were used to construct individual teacher’s profiles which were used to identify relationships between teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, and teaching practices. Results showed that most teachers had restricted views of nature of science and unfavorable beliefs and attitudes about inquiry. Moreover, no consistent relationships between teachers’ beliefs, views of nature of science, and classroom practices were found.

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