The Relationship Between Perceived Creative Culture and Inquiry Teaching Practices Among Taiwanese Teachers

• In Event: Engaging the Microsystem: Teacher Practices and Supports for School Climate, Culture, and Community

Abstract

While inquiry-based pedagogy in high schools is expected to prepare students for their future life and work in a rapidly changing world, many teachers still prefer adopting more traditional lecture-based teaching practices. This study examined an influential but under-examined factor in teachers’ adoption of inquiry teaching practice—teachers’ perceptions of the creative culture in their schools. Analysis of the 2018 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data of junior high school teachers in Taiwan showed evidence for a relationship between teachers’ perceptions of creative culture at schools and their inquiry teaching practice, as well as a mediating effect of teachers’ self-efficacy. The findings suggest that inquiry teaching practices might be enhanced by facilitating and nurturing a creative school environment.

Authors

• Ju-hui Wei, National Sun Yat-sen University

• Thomas J. Smith, Northern Illinois University

• Hsueh-Hua Chuang, National Sun Yat-Sen University