Abstract
This contribution informs about a research project conducted between years 2012 and 2017. The project aimed to map the shift in teachers' attitudes to inquiry-based learning (IBL) and its incorporation into their teaching within the five-year period under survey.
A hyperlink to an online questionnaire, created in Google Documents, was sent to biology teachers in all grammar schools in the Czech Republic. The research showed a statistically significant shift in their knowledge of the term IBL and their grasp of its meaning, as well as in the extent to which teachers employed this approach.
However, the survey also indicated that the teachers did not understand the concept of the inquiry well and they often misunderstood the term IBL. As the main advantage of IBL, teachers listed its ability to increase students' intrinsic motivation and to develop their skills.
As for the disadvantages, the IBL was perceived by the teachers as too time-consuming and too demanding in terms of their own professional and methodological skills. Other disadvantages included the lack of methodology materials and the difficulty in assessing the students' performance.
During the monitored period, an excessive demand on teacher skills and a lack of teaching materials were listed less frequently. This contrasted with a significant increase in the frequency with which the teachers emphasized how time-consuming the method was, among some other reasons for not incorporating the IBL in their teaching.