Guidelines for Developing Teachers Competency in Inquiry-Based Learning Management of Schools under the Surat Thani Provincial Administrative Organization

Abstract

This research aims to 1) study the current and desired conditions of teacher competence in inquiry-based learning management and 2) create and evaluate guidelines for developing teacher competence in inquiry-based learning management of schools under the Surat Thani Provincial Administrative Organization. This research is a mixed-method study. The target group consists of 89 teachers, who were purposively selected. The research instruments include questionnaires, interview forms, and an assessment form for the appropriateness and feasibility of the teacher competence development approach in inquiry-based learning management. The statistics used for data analysis included mean, standard deviation, and need index. This qualitative research was conducted by carrying out in-depth interviews with policy-level executives. Data were analyzed with content analysis.

The research findings show that 1) the current and desired conditions of teacher competence in managing inquiry-based learning were at the moderate and highest levels, respectively. When considering the order of needs in each aspect, it was found that the aspect of exploration and searching had the highest level of need related to the guidelines that teachers should provide a variety of appropriate information sources and learning resources to support students’ learning. This was consistent with the teacher competence in integrating learning resources and local wisdom in teaching and learning. The next level was the aspect of explanation and conclusion in which teachers should encourage students to summarize the knowledge they obtained correctly, clearly, and logically, which was consistent with the teacher competence in using a variety of teaching techniques to develop learners’ potential. 2) Concerning guidelines for developing teacher competence in managing learning, the inquiry-based learning model has 15 development guidelines with the use of 6 development methods: training and seminars, learning through real case studies, self-learning, online communities, learning through simulations, and creating networks for knowledge exchange, together with policy promotion guidelines. According to the results of the evaluation, the appropriateness and feasibility of the approach were found to be at the highest level both overall and in each aspect.