Measuring the disposisions of classrom teachers to implement student-centered teaching activities in the exploratory phase in science courses

The purpose of this study is to determine the tendencies of primary school teachers to implement student-centered scientific inquiry activities during the exploration phase of science lessons and to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure these tendencies. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, inquiry-based learning, and Loxley's three-phase science teaching model, the research employed a quantitative survey design and was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a draft scale consisting of 36 items was developed. Using data from a pilot sample of 200 primary teachers, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed, resulting in a 23-item scale with four factors.The factors were named: "Supporting Discussion and Idea Sharing," "Guiding the Constructive Learning Process," "Encouraging Observation and Prior Knowledge-Based Thinking," and "Fostering Reflective Thinking and Scientific Reasoning." The structure was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), revealing strong model fit indices (CFI = .936, RMSEA = .048, χ²/df = 1.629). The scale demonstrated acceptable values for AVE, CR, and Cronbach's Alpha, confirming its validity and reliability.In the main application, data from 280 teachers were analyzed. The results showed that teachers exhibited moderate to high tendencies toward student-centered practices. Significant differences were found based on rank, age, experience, and self-efficacy perceptions, whereas no significant differences were observed based on gender or class size. The study highlights the importance of supporting student-centered instruction and offers valuable recommendations for restructuring teacher education programs and in-service training aligned with modern science education goals. KEYWORDS: Teacher disposition; Student centered education; Scientific process skills; Inquiry based learning; STEM activities