Inquiry and Argumentation Practices Enacted by Early Students in an Inquiry Cycle About Gravity and Air Friction

International reform documents have called for an emphasis on students’ engagement in core scientific practices, such as inquiry and argumentation, from an early age. However, the role of the teacher in inquiry-based activities remains a largely unexplored research area in early childhood education. To address this gap, this study explores the role of the teacher when early childhood students engage in inquiry and argumentation practices in the context of learning about forces. Discourse analysis methods were used to characterise the teacher’s inquiry cycle and how it contributes to students’ enactment of inquiry and argumentation practices. The participants were a teacher with long experience in inquiry-based teaching and her 25 students (5–6 years old). The inquiry cycle established by the teacher engaged children in inquiry and argumentation practices related to them. This study sheds light on the underexplored research area of teaching-based inquiry practices in early childhood education, providing evidence that it is necessary to reformulate the role of the teacher’s guidance as an integral part of inquiry-based teaching in early childhood.