Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform Model: An Exploration of the Contributing Factors to Science Teachers’ Adoption of Inquiry-Based Pedagogy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70232/jrese.v3i2.57Keywords:
Science Teacher, Adoption of Inquiry Pedagogy, Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform ModelAbstract
Inquiry-based pedagogy is a constructivist-based student-centered instructional approach that facilitates learners’ active construction of knowledge through exploration and questioning. Recognized in national curricula, such as the Framework for K-12 Science Education, this approach has been identified as a powerful strategy to achieve the goal of science education: preparing scientifically literate citizens capable of addressing societal challenges. Despite its benefits, prior research highlights the slow adoption of inquiry-based pedagogy among science teachers, limiting meaningful teaching and learning opportunities for learners. This study investigates the factors influencing teachers’ adoption of inquiry-based pedagogy through the lens of the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform (TCSR) model in the Nigerian context. Employing a survey research design, data were collected using a structured questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to science teachers across Lagos State, Nigeria, with 206 respondents filling out and returning the survey. Descriptive and regression analyses of the data revealed that among the variables considered, only years of teaching experience significantly predicted teachers’ adoption of inquiry-based pedagogy (β =0.91, p< 0.005). Other variables, including teacher responsibility, support, classroom management, and teacher thinking, were found to be statistically insignificant. These findings prompted a deeper exploration of potential reasons for their lack of significance, shedding light on systemic challenges within the educational landscape that science teachers have surmounted over the years. The study suggests the need for the Nigerian education system to prioritize creating an enabling environment that empowers teachers at all experience levels to embrace innovative, student-centered pedagogical practices that meet the demands of 21st-century education.
References
Brand, B. R., & Moore, S. J. (2011). Enhancing teachers’ application of inquiry‐based strategies using a constructivist sociocultural professional development model. International Journal of Science Education, 33(7), 889–913. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500691003739374
Bybee, R., Taylor, J., Gardner, A., Scotter, P., Carlson, J., Westbrook, A., & Landes, N. (2006). The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins, effectiveness, and applications. BSCS. https://www.bates.edu/research/files/2018/07/BSCS_5E_Executive_Summary.pdf
Capps, D. K., & Crawford, B. A. (2013). Inquiry-based professional development: What does it take to support teachers in learning about inquiry and nature of science? International Journal of Science Education, 35(12), 1947–1978. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2012.760209
Duran, L. B., & Duran, E. (2004). The 5E instructional model: A learning cycle approach for inquiry-based science teaching. The Science Education Review, 3(2), 49-58. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1058007.pdf
Emmanuel, O., Olodu, G., Omebe, C. A., Egbe, I., & Elom, I. (2024). Effect of guided inquiry instructional strategy on students’ achievement and retention in basic science in secondary schools. The Journals of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics, 66, 85-98. https://doi.org/10.60787/jnamp-v66-312
Enderle, P. J., Southerland, S. A., & Grooms, J. A. (2013). Exploring the context of change: Understanding the kinetics of a studio physics implementation effort. Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 9(1), 010114. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.010114
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2013). National policy on education (3rd ed.). NERDC Press. Retrieved from: https://www.scribd.com/document/549495834/National-Policy-on-Education?utm_source
Fitzgerald, M. S., & Palincsar, A. S. (2019). Teaching practices that support student sensemaking across grades and disciplines: a conceptual review. Review of Research in Education, 43(1), 227–248. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18821115
Fitzgerald, M., Danaia, L. & McKinnon, D.H. (2019). Barriers inhibiting inquiry-based science teaching and potential solutions: perceptions of positively inclined early adopters. Research in Science Education, 49, 543–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9623-5
Gess-Newsome, J., Southerland, S. A., Johnston, A., & Woodbury, S. (2003). Educational reform, personal practical theories, and dissatisfaction: The anatomy of change in college science teaching. American Educational Research Journal, 40(3), 731–767. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040003731
Gigante, N. A., & Firestone, W. A. (2008). Administrative support and teacher leadership in schools implementing reform. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(3), 302–331. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230810869266
Glessmer, M. (2021, November 12). Quick summary of literature on Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform (TCSR). Retrieved from https://mirjamglessmer.com/2021/11/12/quick-summary-of-literaturteacher-centered-systemic-reform/
Goodman, L. A. (1961). Snowball sampling. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 32(1), 148–170. https://doi.org/10.1214/aoms/1177705148
Grieger, K., Hill, B., & Leontyev, A. (2022). Exploring curriculum adoption of green and sustainable chemistry in undergraduate organic chemistry courses: Results from a national survey in the United States. Green Chemistry, 24(22), 8770–8782. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2GC02999E
Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2019). Teacher leadership and educational change. School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1574964
Herranen, J., Kousa, P., Fooladi, E., & Aksela, M. (2019). Inquiry as a context-based practice – a case study of pre-service teachers’ beliefs and implementation of inquiry in context-based science teaching. International Journal of Science Education, 41(14), 1977–1998. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2019.1655679
Idsardi, R. C., Luft, J. A., Wingfield, J. L., Whitt, B., Barriga, P. A., & Lang, J. D. (2023). Relationships between undergraduate instructors’ conceptions of how students learn and their instructional practices. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 60(9), 2076–2110. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21853
Jamal, A., Begum, S., Alam, H., & Hussain, T. (2023). Impact of perceived organizational support on innovative work behavior and burnout in teachers: Thriving at work as the mediator (2020). Journal of Education and Educational Development, 10(2), 288–307. https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v10i2.815
Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., & Reinhorn, S. (2015). Educating amid uncertainty: The organizational supports teachers need to serve students in high-poverty, urban schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 753–790. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X15607617
Kundu, A., & Roy, D. D. (2023). How do teachers innovate? Role of efficacy for innovation and school climate perception. Psychology in the Schools, 60(12), 4885–4903. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22987
Lee, O., Hart, J. E., Cuevas, P., & Enders, C. (2004). Professional development in inquiry-based science for elementary teachers of diverse student groups. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(10), 1021-1043. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20037
Lotter, C., Rushton, G. T., & Singer, J. (2013). Teacher enactment patterns: How can we help move all teachers to reform-based inquiry practice through professional development? Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(8), 1263–1291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-013-9361-0
Luft, J. A. (2001). Changing inquiry practices and beliefs: The impact of an inquiry-based professional development programme on beginning and experienced secondary science teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 23(5), 517–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690121307
Markula, A., & Aksela, M. (2022). The key characteristics of project-based learning: how teachers implement projects in K-12 science education. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 4, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-021-00042-x
Melville, W., & Bartley, A. (2010). Mentoring and community: Inquiry as stance and science as inquiry. International Journal of Science Education, 32(6), 807–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690902914641
Moju, M., & Fashakin, O. (2024). Using Lesson Study as a tool to cope with instructional challenges: A case study of Chemistry teachers in Nigeria. African Journal of Teacher Education, 13(2), 53–73. https://doi.org/10.21083/ajote.v13i2.8024
National Research Council (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9853
Ngaisah, F., Ramli, M., Karyanto, P., Nasri, N.F., & Halim, L. (2019). Science teachers’ practical knowledge of inquiry-based learning. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 15, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.12973/tused.10260a
Ocak, G., Yılmaz, M., & Mergen, H.H. (2012). Attitudes of primary school teachers towards teaching methods and techniques. Elementary Education Online, 11(2), 504–519. Retrieved from https://ilkogretim-online.org/index.php/pub/article/view/3790
Ogegbo, A. (2021). Relationships between high school teachers’ understanding and their reported practices of inquiry-based pedagogy in science classrooms in Nigeria. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 25. https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2021.1965790
Okedeyi A. S. (2018). Inquiry-based interactive teaching strategy and secondary schools students’ performance in physics in Lagos State. Nigerian Journal of Physics 27(2), 303-307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glt.2022.10.001
Pandita, P., Kumar, S., & Bhardwaj, A. (2025). ‘Mirage of professional duties’: The dilemma every teacher encounters in meeting the goal of foundational literacy and numeracy in India. Education 3-13, 1–15. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/10.1080/03004279.2025.2456012
Priya, A. (2021). Case study methodology of qualitative research: Key attributes and navigating the conundrums in its application. Sociological Bulletin, 70(1), 94–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920970318
Shi, M. (2022). Examining how individual and contextual factors relate to the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices: A study of undergraduate STEM faculty [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Virginia]. UVA Libra. https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/8049g6067
South, L., Saffo, D., Vitek, O., Dunne, C., & Borkin, M. A. (2022). Effective use of Likert scales in visualization evaluations: a systematic review. Computer Graphics Forum, 41(3), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/cgf.14521
Tickle, B. R., Chang, M., & Kim, S. (2011). Administrative support and its mediating effect on US public school teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(2), 342–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.09.002
Uyanık, G. K., & Güler, N. (2013). A study on multiple linear regression analysis. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 106, 234–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.027
van Uum, M. S. J., Verhoeff, R. P., & Peeters, M. (2016). Inquiry-based science education: Towards a pedagogical framework for primary school teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 38(3), 450–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1147660
Voet, M., & De Wever, B. (2019). Teachers’ adoption of inquiry-based learning activities: The importance of beliefs about education, the self, and the context. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(5), 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117751399
von Glasersfeld, E. (2001). The radical constructivist view of science. Foundations of Science, 6(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011345023932
Woodbury, S., & Gess-Newsome, J. (2002). Overcoming the paradox of change without difference: A model of change in the arena of fundamental school reform. Educational Policy, 16(5), 763–782. https://doi.org/10.1177/089590402237312
Young, F., Tuckwell, D., & Cleveland, B. (2022). Actualising the affordances of innovative learning environments through co-creating practice change with teachers. The Australian Educational Researcher, 49(4), 805–826. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00447-7
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Monday Moju, Nation Ibetobou John, Chiamaka Nneka Oguejiofor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
