Exploring science teachers’ epistemic beliefs about scientific inquiry and influencing factors

Science teachers play a critical role in fostering scientific literacy by engaging students in scientific practices. However, little is understood about science teachers' epistemic beliefs about scientific inquiry and the influence of their demographic backgrounds on these beliefs. We conducted a mixed-methods study with 367 teachers of science in China using the Views About Scientific Inquiry questionnaire (VASI). Results revealed limited informed understanding of scientific inquiry (19.2% naïve vs. 18.6% informed), with teachers struggling in aspects like distinguishing scientific questions, transforming data into evidence, and constructing explanations. Moreover, the teachers' views were shaped by the interplay of their teaching experiences, academic background, and level of academic attainment. For teachers with different academic backgrounds, the length of teaching experience has different effects on their views of inquiry. The study highlights the need to integrate scientific inquiry epistemology into teacher education programs tailored to specific misconceptions and teachers' needs. It also stresses the importance of diverse methodologies for exploring epistemic beliefs and calls for establishing professional standards on scientific inquiry epistemology in teacher training.