Views About the Nature of Scientific Inquiry Among Students from Public Schools in Cundinamarca-Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22600/1518-8795.ienci/2026v31n3p346Keywords:
Scientific literacy, Primary and secondary education, Science instruction, Scientific principlesAbstract
Understanding the nature of scientific inquiry is an essential component of scientific literacy; however, students worldwide maintain predominantly naïve views about how science functions as an epistemic enterprise. This study examines such understandings among 100 fourth-grade primary students and 100 eleventh-grade secondary students from public schools in Cundinamarca-Colombia, as part of an international project using validated open-ended questionnaires. Responses were coded as naïve, mixed, or informed; chi-square tests were applied to compare both levels across five shared aspects. In fourth grade, naïve views range from 53% to 73%. In eleventh grade, significantly higher proportions of informed responses were observed across the five shared aspects. Nevertheless, two aspects continued to present substantial difficulties: the multiplicity of scientific methods, with 37% naïve and 13% informed responses, and the relationship between the research question and the procedures, with 57% naïve and 29% informed responses. The findings highlight the need to incorporate the nature of scientific inquiry as explicit content in Colombian curricular frameworks and to strengthen its treatment in science education.References
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