Investigation of the effect of scientific inquiry activities on science literacy success of students based on PISA 2015 data

This thesis, based on PISA 2015 data, aimed to examine the effect of Inquiry-based Science Activities on science literacy achievement. Furthermore, It was examined whether the level of Inquiry-based Science Activities differed significantly according to Geographical Region, School Type, Teacher Support, Classroom Disciplinary Environment in Science Lessons, and Teacher-Directed Teaching. In this study, t test and simple linear regression methods were applied using IEA IDB Analyzer program and SPSS program. The research was carried out according to the answers given by a sample of 5895 15-year-old students in Turkey who participated in the PISA application in 2015. The findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between the level of Inquiry-based Science Activities and the science literacy score of the participant students. When the averages of Inquiry-based Science Activities were compared according to Geographical Regions, it was observed that there was a significant difference between some regions. In the findings, it is also seen that Inquiry-based Science Activities increase as Teacher Support, Classroom Discipline Environment and Teacher-Directed Teaching value increase. When the level of Inquiry-based Science Activities was analyzed by school type, it was found that the average of Inquiry-based Science Activities in General High Schools was significantly higher than the average of vocational High Schools.