A six-month science education programme involving 109 students across five schools in Dhaka has found that inquiry-based learning significantly strengthened students’ communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, regardless of whether they studied under the British or National curriculum.

The study, conducted by researchers Lizoon Nahar of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Crystal Machado, examined how inquiry-based learning (IBL), a teaching approach that encourages students to investigate problems through experiments and teamwork rather than memorising information, influenced the development of so-called “4C” skills that are increasingly considered essential for the modern workforce.

The project brought together 109 students, 20 science teachers and five school coordinators from five urban secondary schools in Dhaka over six months. Two schools followed the British curriculum, while three followed the National curriculum, representing a mix of public and private institutions with widely differing tuition fees.

One of the study’s most significant findings was that curriculum type had little impact on students’ skill development. Instead, researchers found that inquiry-based teaching methods helped students improve the four core competencies across both education systems.

“Teachers can use inquiry-based projects to develop 21st-century skills regardless of curriculum variations,” the researchers concluded.

The intervention moved away from traditional lecture-based classrooms and instead required students to investigate scientific problems in teams. Teachers first received professional development on designing inquiry-based lessons before guiding groups of five or six students through two structured science investigations using laboratory toolkits and locally available materials.

The programme culminated in a poster fair where student teams publicly presented their investigations, followed by panel discussions held online.

Students reported noticeable improvements in how they communicated ideas, worked with classmates, analysed scientific problems and developed creative solutions.

The researchers also found that grade level had a statistically significant effect on the development of these skills, suggesting that students at different educational stages benefited differently from inquiry-based learning. However, gender and curriculum differences showed little influence on overall outcomes.

Throughout the project, students were assigned defined roles such as researcher, recorder, analyser and presenter, encouraging every member to contribute to the group’s work. Instead of simply following textbook instructions, students designed experiments, interpreted findings and presented conclusions collaboratively.

Teachers echoed these observations in post-project surveys, reporting that students became more engaged during lessons and demonstrated greater confidence in discussing scientific ideas.

Site coordinators interviewed as part of the research similarly described noticeable changes in classroom participation and teamwork throughout the six-month intervention.

The findings come at a time when educators worldwide are placing greater emphasis on developing the “4Cs”, communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, skills increasingly viewed as essential for higher education and future employment in an economy shaped by rapid technological change.

While Bangladesh’s national curriculum has undergone several reforms in recent years, many classrooms still rely heavily on teacher-centred instruction and examination-focused learning. Inquiry-based learning attempts to reverse that pattern by placing students at the centre of the learning process through questioning, experimentation and evidence-based reasoning.

The study suggests that this approach can work even in schools with different resources and curricula.

The participating schools reflected a broad socioeconomic spectrum. Annual tuition ranged from institutions charging more than $2,500 under the British curriculum to a public National curriculum school that charged no tuition fees.

To ensure the study captured multiple perspectives, researchers collected quantitative survey responses from students alongside teacher surveys, interviews with school coordinators and transcripts from four Zoom discussions held after the programme.

Statistical analysis showed relatively strong internal consistency for survey measures assessing communication and critical thinking, although creativity produced comparatively lower reliability scores, suggesting future studies may need to refine how creativity is measured.

The researchers acknowledged several limitations.

The schools were selected using purposive and convenience sampling rather than random selection, meaning the findings cannot necessarily be generalised to all Bangladeshi schools. The research also focused exclusively on urban schools in Dhaka, leaving uncertainty about whether similar results would emerge in rural settings.

In addition, much of the evidence relied on participants’ own perceptions of improvement rather than independent assessments of student performance.

Despite these limitations, the authors argue that the findings offer important lessons for education policy.

Rather than focusing solely on curriculum reform, they recommend expanding teacher training programmes that help educators design and implement inquiry-based lessons across science classrooms. They also suggest that learner-centred teaching strategies could be integrated into other subjects to strengthen students’ broader problem-solving and communication abilities.

As Bangladesh continues to debate how best to prepare students for a rapidly changing labour market, the study adds evidence that how students learn may be just as important as what they learn. By encouraging questioning, collaboration and hands-on investigation, inquiry-based learning could provide a practical pathway for developing skills that extend well beyond the science classroom.