Study and research paths in the frontier between paradigms

Implementing inquiry-oriented instructional proposals at the university level collides with many constraints related to the current pedagogical paradigm based on the transmission of previously established works of knowledge. One such constraint comes from defining subjects’ curricula by a set of topics to study, not questions to inquire. Our research team has been working for more than 15 years in designing and implementing an inquiry-oriented instructional format called ‘study and research paths’ (SRPs) within the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic. This paper focuses on the commonalities and specificities of the implemented SRPs to identify critical strategies and didactic devices that facilitate their integration in current university settings. The experimentations also reveal key issues for the sustainability of inquiry-oriented educational proposals related to the question that generates the inquiry and the types of contracts established to approach it.