Examination the inquiry and problem solving skills of pre-service teachers

The aim of this research is to examine the inquiry and problem solving skill levels of pre-service teachers. The research is a quantitative research and the relational screening model, one of the general screening models, was used. The population of the research; pre-service teachers studying in various departments of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Faculty of Education in the 2023-2024 Academic Year, and the sampling; 872 pre-service teachers selected from this population by the convenience sampling method from non-random sampling methods. In this research conducted to determine the inquiry and problem solving skills of pre-school teachers; "Personal Information Form", "Inquiry Skills Scale" and "Problem Solving Skills Scale for Adults" were used as data collection tools. The necessary statistical analyzes of the data collected for the problems and sub-problems of the research were made with suitable SPSS program. Frequency and percentage values of pre-service teachers' responses to the scales were calculated. Cronbach Alpha test was applied for the reliability analyzes of the scales used in the study, and factor analysis was applied to examine the structural validity. The normality tests of the obtained dimensions were performed with the Kolmogrov-Simirnov test. Independent sampling t-test was performed to examine the scales according to gender. Variance analysis was performed for department, class, mother's-father's education, high school type, reason for choosing the profession, reason for choosing the department and satisfaction. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the sub-dimensions of the scales. As a result of the analysis of the findings in the study, it was seen that the questioning skills of the teacher candidates were slightly below the medium level, at a level that could be expressed as low. It was determined that the questioning skills of the teacher candidates partially differed according to the variables of gender and worldview; significantly differed according to the variables of class, department, reason for choosing the profession and satisfaction with the department choice, and there was no significant difference according to the variables of high school type, parental education level and the region where the teacher candidates lived the most. It was observed that the problem-solving skills of the teacher candidates were generally high. It was seen that the problem-solving skills of the teacher candidates did not differ according to the variables of gender, class, type of high school graduated from, department, parental education, the place where most of the life was spent and the reason for choosing the department; it was partially affected by the worldview variable; and there was a difference according to the variables of department choice and satisfaction with the department. Finally, it was determined that there was a significant, high-level relationship between the questioning skills of the teacher candidates and the problem-solving skills. In general, it was seen that there was a significant, positive but weak relationship between all sub-dimensions. It was concluded that individuals with high questioning levels would have significantly high problem-solving levels.