The Involvement in Inquiry-Based Working of Primary Teachers in China: A Large-Scale Study

Worldwide, educational systems have shown a growing interest in teachers as inquiry-oriented professionals. The present study reports on a large-scale quantitative study to explore the current involvement of Chinese primary school teachers in inquiry-based working. The latter reflects three forms of activities at both the classroom and school levels, including systematic reflection, using research, and conducting research. Data were collected from a sample of 5566 primary teachers from 114 schools across seven cities. Multilevel analysis results show how primary school teachers feel challenged to engage in inquiry-based working when tackling school-level problems. Several individual-level predictors, such as educational level, research function, and teachers’ perception of research-related courses, could be identified as significant precursors of teachers’ involvement in inquiry-based working. At the school level, significant predictors are related to the location of the school. In this regard, large disparities were found in teacher involvement in inquiry-based working between rural and urban schools. The paper argues that these insights provide implications as to how teacher education and school policy can support primary teachers to become inquiry-oriented professionals.