An exploration of inquiry based science education in Irish primary schools

This thesis is concerned with exploring the state of primary science education in Ireland, with a particular focus on devising a developmental framework and a form of an intervention for supporting the promotion of the ideals of inquiry in science teaching and learning in primary schools. Current research shows that primary science education in Ireland and internationally is facing major issues relating to teacher confidence, teacher pedagogies and teacher content knowledge. In Ireland, this has resulted in a situation where primary school teachers appear to be avoiding science teaching. This investigation, therefore, explores the concept of Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) and its application to primary science education, with the aim of demonstrating the positive impact of IBSE on teaching. To achieve this, this research carried out a contextual analysis and an analysis of professional practice of Irish science education. These studies were then synthesised into the development of a form of teaching intervention which promoted the structures, processes and ideals of IBSE. These studies included a critical review and evaluation of current research on primary science education, teacher education and teacher resources, with a specific focus on the Irish system. Within this research, a number of observations of current teacher practices were carried out to discover whether IBSE is present in Irish primary schools. Synthesising these findings, a form of intervention was developed. This intervention consisted of an online learning environment designed to provide teachers with guidance and resources on how to plan and deliver IBSE lessons at primary education level. An evaluation of the impact of this intervention was carried out, with the help of a number of practising and pre-service primary science teachers, via feedback, observations and a Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) analysis. The intervention was found to have a positive impact on the practice of teaching, held in high regard by the participant teachers and have a positive effect on the Pedagogical Content Knowledge of pre-service teachers.