Five Essential Features of Scientific Inquiry in Bahraini Primary School Science Textbooks and Workbooks

This study analyzed Bahraini primary school science textbooks and workbooks from grades 1 to 6 in terms of their coverage of the five essential features of scientific inquiry. These features include the following: feature 1, engaging learners in scientifically oriented questions; feature 2, making learners give priority to evidence in responding to questions; feature 3, allowing learners to formulate explanations from evidence; feature 4, helping learners connect explanations to scientific knowledge; and feature 5, helping learners communicate and justify explanations to others. The features are further classified into four levels on a rubric, which assesses whether the textbook and workbook promote teacher-centered or student-centered features of inquiry (teacher-centered, teacher-driven, teacher-guided, student-centered). The results indicate that the essential features are included in 95.9% of the activities in both textbooks and workbooks. However, the majority of these features are found at inquiry levels 1 and 2, which are teacher-centered and teacher-driven. As students progress from grade 1 to grade 6, the inquiry activities include more essential features at higher inquiry levels (teacher-guided and student-centered). When analyzing the inclusion of essential features based on science disciplines, the results show that these inquiry features are primarily emphasized at levels 1 and 2. Therefore, science textbooks and workbooks should provide more opportunities for higher levels of inquiry (levels 3 and 4). In conclusion, these results provide important recommendations for educational leaders and policymakers regarding the development of the science curriculum.