Exploring students' difficulties across the stages of scientific inquiry in elementary science learning

Inquiry-based science learning requires students to move through a series of interrelated activities, yet little is known about where elementary school students encounter difficulties across the inquiry process as a whole. This study aimed to describe students' difficulties at six stages of inquiry and to consider factors that may help explain them. A qualitative descriptive case study was conducted in one classroom at Pagandongan State Elementary School with 23 elementary school students during a single environment-based inquiry activity on plant leaf conditions. Data were collected through structured classroom observations and students' worksheets, and analyzed using the model of Miles et al. The findings showed that difficulties varied across the inquiry stages. Difficulties were lowest in orientation (4%) and highest in hypothesis testing (87%), while hypothesis formulation, data collection, data analysis, and conclusion drawing showed difficulties ranging from 30% to 48%. Students performed relatively well in observation-based activities but had more difficulty in tasks that required coordinating evidence with explanations. These difficulties may be associated with the reasoning demands of the tasks, students' developmental level, and the instructional support available; however, these explanations are interpretive because no interview data were collected. As the study involved one classroom and one inquiry activity, the findings should be interpreted within this context. The study highlights the need for structured scaffolding, particularly in evidence evaluation and conclusion drawing, to support elementary students' inquiry skills.