Exploring the Effect of the Guided Inquiry Approach with 5E on Secondary School Students’ Engagement in Biology in Mattu, Southwest Ethiopia

Student engagement is crucial for fostering meaningful learning, conceptual understanding, and the development of scientific skills in science education. In Ethiopia, secondary school biology instruction remains largely teacher-centered and memorization-focused, limiting students’ engagement in inquiry and science process skills. This study examined the effects of Guided Inquiry-Based Learning (GIBL) structured around the 5E instructional model on secondary school students’ engagement in biology. A concurrent embedded mixed-methods design was employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative component used a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with nonequivalent groups (n = 105) from two government secondary schools in Mattu Town, Ethiopia, with 52 students (28 males, 24 females) in the experimental group and 53 students (28 males, 25 females) in the control group. Student engagement across cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social dimensions was measured using the Biology Engagement Scale (BES). Semi-structured interviews with twenty experimental group students explored their experiences with GIBL. Quantitative analyses revealed that GIBL significantly improved engagement in all dimensions compared with conventional instruction, with medium to large effect sizes (cognitive: η² = 0.194; behavioral: η² = 0.171; emotional: η² = 0.196; social: η² = 0.386). Gender did not affect cognitive (F = 2.20, p = .142), behavioral (F = 1.70, p = .198), or emotional engagement (F = 1.30, p = .256), but females scored higher in social engagement (F = 10.80, p = .002), with a significant Group × Gender interaction (F = 8.70, p = .004) indicating that GIBL benefited them most. Qualitative findings confirmed active participation, hands-on learning, collaboration, motivation, and real-life connections. The study recommends biology teachers are encouraged to adopt GIBL with the 5E model to enhance engagement and deepen understanding in secondary biology education.