This study investigated differences between the inquiring attitudes of student teachers who followed an academic programme and student teachers who followed a professional programme in teacher education.
Differences between students were assessed through a survey among 260 students and interviews with nine students.
Differences between the curricula of both programmes were explored through a curriculum analysis.
In particular, academic students appeared to have a more inquiring attitude than professional students.
They had a more critical attitude towards classroom situations and a higher motivation to use and perform research.
Teacher research was integrated in the curricula of both academic and professional programmes.
However, the academic programme addressed a larger variety of forms of research and the focus on research was more consistent throughout the programme than in the professional programme.