Abstract

Research evidence shows that students’ interest in a subject, their motivation to study, career choice, participation in extracurricular activities, teaching methods, and teachers’ level of experience, are a range of variables that influence students’ attitudes and performance. Use of a student-centred approach such as inquiry-based approach (IBA), will influence the development of students’ interests and attitudes in the subject, thereby improving their performance. According to research evidence, students’ attitudes are related to achievement. It was recommended that teachers should implement effective teaching strategies that influence development of positive attitudes towards Biology. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inquiry-based approach on the attitudes of students towards Biology. The target population was 37 public secondary schools, 1,194 Form 3 students and 29 Biology teachers. The study adopted simple random and purposive sampling techniques to select 11 secondary schools, 14 Biology teachers and 344 students. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used for data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive analysis with the help of Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. On the basis of the findings, it was found that implementation of IBA influenced the attitudes of Form 3 students. Students collaborated to create their own knowledge and engaged in practical activities. However, it was found that a variety of factors, including the availability of resources such as computers and internet access, are critical to assisting students in understanding challenging topics and conducting research. This will increase their interest to engage into the learning activities. It is recommended that Biology teachers implement more of IBA during teaching, since it motivates students, engages them into thinking and reasoning, and asking questions. Teachers should also engage students into more of group work, since it fosters collaboration among students and allows them to handle and manipulate apparatus during practical.