Although curriculum redesign in primary and secondary schools profits from inquiry-based working, these are not yet commonly embedded in school cultures (Geijsel et al., 2020). Inquiry-based working refers to activities engaged in by teachers in which they use literature or conduct inquiries to reflect on their own practices or those of their school organizations. Many different types of inquiry-based working in education exist, including evidence-informed practice and data-based working. These types share a common underlying process: they are characterized by intentional and systematic approaches aimed at improving teaching (Baan, 2020).

Although individual teachers can improve their knowledge and skills with regards to inquiry-based activities, working inquiry-based at the school level, e.g., to improve the curriculum, is difficult to achieve (Meijer et al., 2013). Therefore, in order to improve inquiry-based curriculum design practices in schools, it is important to ensure professional development of teachers and school leaders, and integrate these within school development efforts. This leads to an integral school development approach (Handelzalts et al., 2019).

This integral approach is also echoed in the EU’s vision, stating that inquiry-based working is required to improve curriculum, professional, and school development (Council of the European Union, 2024). The EU recently asked their Member States to foster inquiry-based working by raising awareness of the importance of research use, the analysis of successful practices to identify key factors, and the promotion of a research culture in schools. Consequently, the countries participating in this symposium emphasize the importance of a research culture in primary and secondary education (e.g., Jepma et al., 2024), while also granting schools (in the Netherlands and Belgium) and regions (in Spain) reasonably high levels of autonomy to manifest (elements of) such a culture.

The aim of this symposium is to provide insights into the role of inquiry-based working in informing and influencing professional development and school development as strategies for curriculum redesign, ultimately shaping educational practices across three European countries.

The presenters will discuss relevant findings from four separate and methodologically diverse studies: a questionnaire development study, two case studies, and an intervention study. Studies were conducted in early childhood, primary, and secondary education, and use questionnaires and interviews.

Our findings regarding professional development imply that teacher leadership can promote inquiry-based working through critical friendship within teacher teams engaged in curriculum development (van Uum), professional learning communities can support teacher leaders to promote inquiry-based working of their colleagues who work on curriculum development (van Uum), researcher-led professional development programs promote teachers’ research engagement with research evidence when addressing curriculum issues, and support the development of their teacher-researcher professional identity (Ion), and teachers are hindered by their limited knowledge about data from digital learning management systems (Faddar).

Our findings regarding school development imply that a newly developed questionnaire can serve as a tool for schools to map their research culture when schools address their curriculum-issues inquiry-based (Krijgsman), teacher leadership can promote inquiry-based working to improve education through collaboration with school management (van Uum), digital learning management systems can inform school-level initiatives around curriculum implementation or redesign (Faddar), and schools need to create awareness about learning analytics as a valuable source for school-level decision making (Faddar). The discussion will focus on theoretical and practical implications of the studies, and will provide directions for future research. 

Baan, J. (2020). The contribution of academic teachers to inquiry-based working in primary schools. [Thesis, externally prepared, Universiteit van Amsterdam]. Council of the European Union (2024). Non-paper on evidence-informed education. Council of the European Union. https://data-onderwijs.vlaanderen.be/documenten/bestanden/non-paper-on-evidence-informed-education.pdf Geijsel, F., Schenke, W., van Driel, J., & Volman, M. (2020). Embedding inquiry‐based practices in schools: The strategic role of school leaders. European Journal of Education, 55(2), 233-247. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12395 Handelzalts, A., Nieveen, N., & van den Akker, J. (2019). Teacher design teams for school-wide curriculum development: Reflections on an early study. In J. Pieters, J. Voogt, & N. Pareja Roblin (Eds.), Collaborative curriculum design for sustainable innovation and teacher learning. Springer Open. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20062-6_4 Jepma, I., Willemsen, M., Haagsman, A., van den Berg, E., & de Groot, J. (2024). Kennisgedreven onderwijs. Onderzoek naar evidence informed werken in het funderend onderwijs. [Knowledge-driven education. Research on evidence-informed practice in primary and secondary education]. Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/c1576617-745d-4aa6-aaaf-4f213036318a/file Meijer, P. C., Oolbekkink, H. W., Meirink, J. A., & Lockhorst, D. (2013). Teacher research in secondary education: Effects on teachers’ professional and school development, and issues of quality. International Journal of Educational Research, 57, 39 – 50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.10.005