This paper aims to identify conceptualisations and practices of 6 science teacher educators [STEs] with respect of inquiry based science teaching [IBST]. Today European teachers have to implement IBST in order to enhance pupils' learning and motivation towards scientific objects. Nevertheless, such new approaches of teaching which are learner centred appear as more complex than teacher centred methods. In order to understand how teachers could cope with such complexity, the paper focuses on expert teachers, particularly on teacher educators' conceptualisations and practices.

A 6 dimensions model results from the state of the art about IBST. Each dimension consists on a continuum from conceptions and practices which are rather teacher centred to learners centred approaches. These dimensions and continuum are: 1/The origin of questioning which spur the inquiry: from teacher only to pupils' group; 2/ The nature of the problem : from a open-ended problem introducing a new chapter to the existence of a research problem whose answer is not obvious, even for the teacher; 3/ The role of argumentation: from presentation of the results of each pupils' team to comparison of each rationale; 4/The learners' level of responsibility for steering the inquiry: from following a standardized procedure to ensuring the control of the process, including self-assessment; 5/ The consideration of pupils' diversity (cognitive, affective, social, gender, disability): from a unique way to conduct the lesson to different ways and resources made available for the pupil's; 6/ The level of explanation about what is learned during the inquiry : from implicit to explicit teaching about knowledge and meta-knowledge.

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