<![CDATA[This study aims to investigate the understanding of scientific inquiry among prospective physics teachers' and to identify any gaps between the procedural and philosophical aspects of inquiry. Understanding this profile is uniquely crucial for physics educators, as the discipline's heavy mathematical load often obscures the philosophical nature of science. This qualitative descriptive study involved 27 prospective physics teachers at Malang State University as respondents. The instrument used was the Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI) questionnaire, which covers eight aspects of scientific inquiry. The analysis reveals a distinct procedural-epistemological gap. Based on the VASI rubric, all participants were categorized as informed on procedural aspects, including question-guided procedures, the impact of procedures on results, the consistency of conclusions with the data, and the synthesis of data with prior knowledge. Conversely, notable naive and mixed views emerged regarding philosophical aspects, particularly regarding the obligation of hypotheses, the myth of a single scientific method, and the role of subjectivity in data interpretation. These findings suggest that participants' prior laboratory experiences may have heavily emphasized technical verification practicums rather than epistemological reflection. Therefore, teacher education programs need to integrate an explicit, reflective instructional approach to the nature of scientific inquiry to equip prospective teachers with a comprehensive understanding of science before entering the professional world. ]]>
