While helping students develop informed views about nature of
scientific inquiry (VNOSI) has been emphasised in science
education, little is known regarding students’ current VNOSI at a
certain grade level and whether there was evidence of higher
attainment of VNOSI in students in higher grades as compared to
lower grades? The purpose of this study was to answer these
questions. This study was conducted in China, Hebei province,
with a medium level of economic, social, and educational
development. Data collection consisted of questionnaire survey
and structured-interview. Participants were 212 students (82
males, 130 females) at five grade levels and from four types of
locations. The results were: (a) No matter which grade levels
students were in, most of them had not developed informed
VNOSI. (b) According to Fisher exact tests, in six aspects of nature
of scientific inquiry (NOSI), students in higher grades had higher
attainment as compared to lower grades; and in two aspects of
NOSI, students in higher grades did not have higher attainment
as compared to lower grades. In order to explain these research
results, three possible reasons were explored; For the purpose of
promoting the development of students’ VNOSI, three
implications were discussed