The impact of scientific inquiry on teacher self-efficacy in the Chilean context

Abstract

Teacher self-efficacy directly influences the quality of science teaching and student learning. This study examined the impact of an inquiry-based continuous professional development program on 94 public school science teachers from northern Chile, employing a pre-experimental design with pre- and post-test measurements administered through the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES). The results showed statistically significant improvements in instructional strategies (d=1.19), classroom management (d=1.02), and student engagement (d=1.31), with increases ranging from 11.7% to 19.2%. These findings suggest that continuous professional development focused on inquiry-based pedagogical approaches can substantially strengthen teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and enhance science education. Nevertheless, the absence of a control group in the pre-experimental design limits causal inference.