ABSTRACT
The origins of inquiry-driven curriculum in the United States can be traced back to Dewey’s curriculum ideology of progressivism that emphasized a problem-centered curriculum, reflective thinking, and discovery learning (Dewey, 1938; Eisner, 1992; Engle, 1986) and the Academic Reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s that included the New Social Studies movement. This movement aimed at the revision of the conventional curriculum areas so as to teach the structure of disciplines (Schwab, 1968) and the inquiry strategies used by scientists (Haas, 1979). A variety of factors influenced the limited implementation of inquiry instruction at the time, including (a) inadequate design for teaching inquiry skills to teachers and students, (b) deficient teacher education, (c) limited availability of inquiry materials, (d) concern about students’ preparation and ability to use inquiry strategies, and (e) perception of being a type of instruction difficult to manage (Jantz, Weaver, Cirrincione, & Farrell, 1985; Hill, 1985; L. R. Nelson & Drake, 1994; VanSickle, 1985).
