Louca, Loucas T.

This book is a compilation of edited chapters from different science education disciplines and contexts, aiming to provide resources for the implementation of inquiry-based science teaching/learning (IBST/L), and to highlight ways in which those approaches could be promoted across various contexts. The chapters in the book presented the efforts of a group of science education researchers and practicing science teachers to put theoretical ideas into practice and to bridge the gaps between broad policy perspectives, specific educational realities of local school traditions, and embedded practices ingrained in national educational cultures. In this concluding chapter, we provide a structured overview of the main theoretical ideas discussed throughout the book, seeking to help the reader situate all these efforts within a coherent theoretical framework of what inquiry-based approaches in science education involve and what they require from teachers in terms of knowledge and abilities. We focus on four main topics that appear across the chapters in the book: (1) application of scientific inquiry in authentic learning environments; (2) descriptions of six main theoretical frameworks underpinning IBST/L throughout the book, (i) theory and research in motivation, (ii) self-efficacy, (iii) scientific literacy, (iv) dialogic teaching, (v) the communicative approach, and (vi) the nature of science; (3) presentation of pedagogical content knowledge as a productive framework that can unite efforts for teachers’ professional development in IBST/L as presented in this book; and (4) description of effective strategies for professional development, specifically for helping teachers implement this approach for teaching science.