Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science and Social Studies Teaching in the Development of Students' Scientific Competence

Inquiry-based teaching involves a purposeful and organized process of learning, where students, with their own activity and exploration, construct new knowledge concepts and develop a number of cognitive and practical skills. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between inquiry-based Science and Social Studies teaching and the development of students' scientific competence. For this purpose, an experimental survey with parallel groups in primary schools in Zagreb and Zagreb County was conducted, with fourth-grade students (N=333) being the participants in this research. The results of this research show that inquiry-based teaching produces much better development of students' scientific competence than do traditional teaching methods. Students who were part of the experimental group, and who were taught according to this teaching strategy achieved notably better results at all levels of science competence tests. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the use of inquiry-based teaching in Science and Social Studies classes is necessary and recommended because of its distinctly positive effects on the development of students' competences. Therefore, it is necessary to include this teaching strategy in the structure of the new primary school curriculum.