Inquiry-based Learning in Indonesia: Portraying Supports, Situational Beliefs, and Chemistry Teachers’ Adoptions

Abstract

This study aimed at portraying the implementation of inquiry-based chemistry learning in the city of Jambi, Indonesia during the curriculum reformation era. The study included pre-existing supports for and situational beliefs towards the use of the strategy. The results of a questionnaire (n=99) revealed that inquiry had been minimally adopted in these areas. Improper supports and beliefs were identified and significantly contributed (p< .05) to the low adoption of the strategy (r= .56**, β= .32; and r= .57**, β= .35). These findings might explain the limited success of the Indonesian curriculum and low science achievement of the Indonesian students in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This study recommends that the supportive learning conditions are needed to promote the teachers shift their own instructional strategies and improve the Indonesian students‘ science competencies.