Inquiry in Science Education

Inquiry has played a major role in the past and present science education reforms around the world. Despite a great number of studies leveraging TIMSS and PISA data to investigate inquiry in science education, there is little effort to synthesize their findings. The present study aims to systematically review how TIMSS and PISA data were used to investigate inquiry and discuss how the findings contributed to the overall research on inquiry in science education. Patterns and findings from the TIMSS and PISA research were synthesized across the three strands of inquiry research to identify the relevant factors that explain (1) teachers’ frequent implementation of inquiry as an instructional approach, (2) students’ performance in inquiry or inquiry as an instructional outcome, and (3) the relationships between inquiry as an instructional approach and outcome. Findings indicated that the majority of the studies emphasized the third strand of inquiry research by examining the relationships between inquiry and student achievement. Although these studies used similar data, their conceptualizations and measurements of inquiry as an instructional approach varied considerably. This chapter provides an overview of the assessment of inquiry in TIMSS and PISA targeted to science education researchers who are unfamiliar with this field in the hope of encouraging them to utilize these data. It also encourages other researchers to reflect upon the knowledge gained from harnessing TIMSS and PISA data as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.