In the Netherlands, academically oriented programmes for primary teacher education have recently been established. The aim of this study is to provide insight in the extent to which graduates from these academically oriented programmes are involved in different forms of inquiry-based working and which factors promote or hinder this involvement. Interviews with 10 academically educated teachers and their school leaders and observations of team meetings were used for this exploratory study. Three forms of inquiry-based working could be distinguished; systematic reflection, using research and conducting research. For most teachers, systematic reflection was part of their daily practice and most teachers made use of research; only a minority was involved in conducting research. Factors like ownership and the role of the teacher in the team were related to teachers' involvement in inquiry-based working. Teachers with a formal research function in inquiry-based working in their schools appeared to be more involved in inquiry-based working, especially in conducting research.

h i g h l i g h t sBeginning teacher's involvement in inquiry-based working was investigated. Graduates from academic and professional teacher education programmes were compared. A survey was developed measuring teachers' involvement in inquiry-based working. Factors influencing teachers' involvement in inquiry based working were explored. Academic teachers were more involved in using research in their classroom.

This study investigated differences between the inquiring attitudes of student teachers who followed an academic programme and student teachers who followed a professional programme in teacher education. Differences between students were assessed through a survey among 260 students and interviews with nine students. Differences between the curricula of both programmes were explored through a curriculum analysis. In particular, academic students appeared to have a more inquiring attitude than professional students. They had a more critical attitude towards classroom situations and a higher motivation to use and perform research. Teacher research was integrated in the curricula of both academic and professional programmes. However, the academic programme addressed a larger variety of forms of research and the focus on research was more consistent throughout the programme than in the professional programme.

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