The Effect of a Guided Inquiry Method on Pre-service Teachers’ Science Teaching Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a guided inquiry method for science teaching on elementary pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. In the study a pretest/posttest one group research design was used. The study sample that consisted of 101 second year pre-service
elementary teachers who are registered to a science laboratory course in the 2008 Spring semester. At the beginning of the study, the Elementary Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) was completed by the participants. A 14-week science laboratory course was taken by the learners that was designed to use a guided inquiry teaching method with heavy reliance on the use of science process skills. At the end of the course the STEBI was again completed by the pre-service teachers. The data were analyzed by using paired sample t-test with the SPSS 16.00 program at the 0.01 significance level. Focus group interviews were also conducted with 10 groups of participants after they completed the
course. Qualitative and quantitative findings indicated that levels of participants’ efficacy expectations and outcome expectations on posttest scores were higher than the pretest scores. The paper also presents the effectiveness of a guided inquiry method to increase the sense of self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers in science teaching.