The effect of inquiry-based teaching on students' achievement in social studies course

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the inquiry-based teaching model on students' learning processes and academic achievement in Social Studies instruction. The research was designed using an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. The study was conducted with a total of 71 students studying at the 6th-grade level of a secondary school in the province of Denizli during the 2024-2025 academic year. In the quantitative phase of the research, a control group post-test only experimental design was used to determine the effect of inquiry-based teaching on academic achievement. While the "Science, Technology, and Society" learning domain of the Social Studies course was taught using inquiry-based activities in the experimental group, it continued to be taught using the methods in the current curriculum in the control group. At the end of the implementation process, the "Science, Technology, and Society Achievement Test" was administered to both groups to measure the differences in academic achievement. A case study design was adopted to explain the qualitative findings in depth and to obtain detailed data on the learning process. In this context, in-class interactions were systematically recorded using a semi-structured observation form to understand the learning processes of the students in the experimental group, and subsequently, student interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview form. In the data analysis process of the research, an independent samples t-test was used to analyze the quantitative data. For the analysis of the qualitative data, descriptive analysis and content analysis methods were employed. To enhance the validity and reliability of the study, expert opinion was sought for the data collection tools, and data triangulation (observation, interview, achievement test) was performed to ensure the consistency of the findings. The research results revealed that the quantitative and qualitative findings were consistent and mutually supportive. When the findings were evaluated from a holistic perspective, it was concluded that the inquiry-based teaching approach both improved students' higher-order thinking skills and positively affected their academic achievement in Social Studies courses, thus proving to be an effective and efficient pedagogical approach. In light of these results, recommendations for practice and further research were presented.