PRADINIŲ KLASIŲ MOKYTOJŲ TYRINĖJIMU GRĮSTO UGDYMO PATIRTYS GAMTAMOKSLINĖSE PAMOKOSE [PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' EXPERIENCES OF INQUIRY-BASED EDUCATION IN SCIENCE LESSONS]

Modern society emphasises the importance of engaging and involving children in the teaching/learning process and aims to make students active participants in the educational process. Both scientific and methodological literature suggests that one of the most useful methods of learning is experiential learning. The new Science Framework Programme (2022) is designed to enable primary school pupils to learn as much as possible about the world, to ask questions, to search for answers, to develop responsibility and to develop exploratory skills. The curriculum highlights the importance of inquiry in science learning, allowing pupils to experience the joy of exploring, to solve problems, to argue their choices, to find evidence and to support their conclusions. In Lithuania, more research and articles are focusing on the benefits and importance of inquiry-based education for students. In general, most articles are about the educational process, activities and student achievement, while teachers are often left out. The aim of this study is to reveal the experiences of primary school teachers in inquiry-based education in science classrooms. The survey was carried out among 62 teachers, 93.5% of the respondents work as primary school teachers in public schools. The research revealed that primary school teachers understand the importance and multiple benefits of inquiry-based education. Although teachers understand the importance of using exploratory activities in the classroom, the use of this method is relatively rare. It was observed that teachers who have recently started working as primary school teachers are the least likely to explore with their pupils. The data also revealed that the content of the "Taip" textbook is the most conducive for teachers to organise exploration activities in the classroom, while the content of the "Gilė" textbook is the least so. Teachers felt that inquiry-based education was most constrained by a lack of time, inadequate classrooms, and a lack of methodological materials and tools. A number of teachers identified one of the problems as the fact that they have to buy the tools needed for exploration out of their own finances. The experience of primary school teachers shows that there is a lack of seminars on how to organise exploration in the classroom, and that there is a need for more dissemination and funding for seminars.