The involvement of academically educated Dutch teachers in inquiry-based working

In the Netherlands, academically oriented programmes for primary teacher education have recently been established. The aim of this study is to provide insight in the extent to which graduates from these academically oriented programmes are involved in different forms of inquiry-based working and which factors promote or hinder this involvement. Interviews with 10 academically educated teachers and their school leaders and observations of team meetings were used for this exploratory study. Three forms of inquiry-based working could be distinguished; systematic reflection, using research and conducting research. For most teachers, systematic reflection was part of their daily practice and most teachers made use of research; only a minority was involved in conducting research. Factors like ownership and the role of the teacher in the team were related to teachers’ involvement in inquiry-based working. Teachers with a formal research function in inquiry-based working in their schools appeared to be more involved in inquiry-based working, especially in conducting research.