TY - JOUR
T1 - Constructing a model of engagement in scientific inquiry
T2 - investigating relationships between inquiry-related curiosity, dimensions of engagement, and inquiry abilities
AU - Wu, Pai Hsing
AU - Wu, Hsin Kai
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was finally supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan under MOST 103?2511-S-003?038-MY4, MOST 106?2511-S-003?046-MY3, and the ?Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences? of National Taiwan Normal University from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - According to policy documents and research studies, one key objective of science education is to develop students’ inquiry abilities; however, relatively little is known about the interplay among students’ inquiry abilities, the dimensions of their engagement, and their inquiry-related curiosity. The purpose of this study is to explore how four dimensions of engagement (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social) were driven by inquiry-related curiosity and how they affected the students’ inquiry abilities. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data collected from 605 11th graders, including their responses to items in an online questionnaire and their performances on a computer-based assessment of scientific inquiry abilities. The results showed that students’ curiosity was associated with their inquiry abilities, and such an association was partially mediated by the four dimensions of engagement in science laboratory classes. Moreover, the results revealed that among the four dimensions of engagement, only cognitive and emotional engagement had significant total effects on students’ inquiry abilities and that the influence of behavioral and social engagement on inquiry abilities was completely mediated by cognitive engagement. This study suggests a critical role played by emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and curiosity in developing students’ inquiry abilities.
AB - According to policy documents and research studies, one key objective of science education is to develop students’ inquiry abilities; however, relatively little is known about the interplay among students’ inquiry abilities, the dimensions of their engagement, and their inquiry-related curiosity. The purpose of this study is to explore how four dimensions of engagement (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social) were driven by inquiry-related curiosity and how they affected the students’ inquiry abilities. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data collected from 605 11th graders, including their responses to items in an online questionnaire and their performances on a computer-based assessment of scientific inquiry abilities. The results showed that students’ curiosity was associated with their inquiry abilities, and such an association was partially mediated by the four dimensions of engagement in science laboratory classes. Moreover, the results revealed that among the four dimensions of engagement, only cognitive and emotional engagement had significant total effects on students’ inquiry abilities and that the influence of behavioral and social engagement on inquiry abilities was completely mediated by cognitive engagement. This study suggests a critical role played by emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and curiosity in developing students’ inquiry abilities.
KW - Behavioral engagement
KW - Cognitive engagement
KW - Curiosity
KW - Emotional engagement
KW - Inquiry ability
KW - Social engagement
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U2 - 10.1007/s11251-020-09503-8
DO - 10.1007/s11251-020-09503-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85079465610
SN - 0020-4277
VL - 48
SP - 79
EP - 113
JO - Instructional Science
JF - Instructional Science
IS - 1
ER -