Inquiry-based leading and learning Inquiry-based working by school boards, school leaders and teachers and students’ inquiry habit of mind

Inquiry-based working is assumed to contribute to improving educational quality and to stimulate professional learning. It involves having an inquiry habit of mind, being data literate and creating a culture of inquiry in schools (based on Earl & Katz, 2006). The general aim of this study was to provide insight in the way school boards, school leaders and teachers work in an inquiry-based manner, how an inquiry-based culture is established in schools and what this means for the inquiry habit of mind of students. A students’ inquiry habit of mind includes being curious and having critical thinking skills.
A quantitative survey investigated the relationship between psychological factors (attitude, experienced social pressure, self-efficacy, collective efficacy) and school leaders’ and teachers’ inquiry-based working. Self-efficacy stood out as being significantly related to all aspects of inquiry-based working by school leaders as well as teachers.
We performed a multiple case study to investigate the interplay between school boards, school leaders, and teachers regarding inquiry-based working. This study identified multiple ways in which educators can encourage others to work in an inquiry-based manner, both top-down and bottom-up.
To examine the relationship between teachers’ inquiry-based work and students’ inquiry habit of mind we combined the results from our survey and case study. We found a relationship between teachers’ inquiry-based work and students’ curiosity. No relationship was found between teachers’ inquiry-based approach and students’ critical thinking habits.