AI-Integrated Inquiry-Based Learning Practices and Scientific Inquiry Competence among Grade 6 Cambridge Primary Science Learners in Jakarta, Indonesia: The Moderating Role of AI Literacy

This study examined AI-integrated inquiry-based learning practices, scientific inquiry competence, and the moderating role of AI literacy among Grade 6 Cambridge Primary Science learners in Jakarta, Indonesia. A quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional predictive-correlational design used total enumeration of 91 learners across four sections. Data came from two learner-report questionnaires and a scenario-based competence assessment. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman correlations, multiple regression, and moderated regression. Learners reported occasional AI-integrated inquiry practices (M = 2.321), with Investigation highest and Discussion lowest. They averaged 11.220 out of 12 independently scored competence items, although a ceiling effect and limited internal consistency (KR-20 = .485) constrained interpretation. Self-assessed AI literacy was generally favorable (M = 3.359). The Pearson association between inquiry practices and competence was negative (r = −.251, p = .016), while the Spearman association was nonsignificant. In multiple regression, AI literacy was a positive predictor (B = 0.650, p = .028), whereas inquiry practices were nonsignificant. The interaction was nonsignificant (B = 0.257, p = .729). The study proposed an AI Literacy-Responsive Science Inquiry Integration and Decision Guide emphasizing purposeful AI use, evidence verification, and independent scientific reasoning.