Epistemological beliefs and approaches to learning: their change through secondary school and their influence on academic performance (original) (raw)
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El artículo, enmarcado en el momento previo a la entrada del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, presenta un estudio dirigido a conocer en qué medida las creencias epistemológicas de los estudiantes de titulaciones del área de conocimiento de Pedagogía y Ciencias de la Educación cambian conforme progresan en sus estudios. Así como, si existen diferencias entre las creencias epistemológicas de estos estudiantes en función de la variable género. Se parte de la premisa de que en una enseñanza centrada en el propio estudiante resulta relevante la comprensión de las experiencias de aprendizaje. Los participantes fueron 1388 estudiantes de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Se empleó el cuestionario de Creencias Epistemológicas de Schommer. Los resultados muestran que las creencias de los primeros cursos tienden a ser más ingenuas y simples que en los últimos cursos de las titulaciones. Asimismo, los resultados encontrados muestran diferencias de género.
Epistemological Beliefs: Its Relationship with Learning Styles, Learning Approaches, and Achievement
Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences, 2018
The study aimed to assess the relationship among epistemological beliefs, learning styles, learning approaches and achievement of the University students. One hundred University students participated and responded the Epistemological Belief Questionnaires (EVQ) and Learning Style Inventory (LSI), and MANOVA used to find out the relationship among the variables. It resulted that ability has significant relationship with learning styles and learning approaches, and there was significant relationship between learning styles and interest, but no significant relationship among learning approaches, interest, and achievements of students. It was also resulted that there existed no significant relationship among the epistemological beliefs, learning styles, learning approaches and achievement of the University students. Quick learning, slow learning, traditional approach, constructivist approach, and achievement have no significant relationship with ability. Similarly, interest, previous knowledge, effort, IQ, environment have no significant relationship with quick learning, slow learning, traditional approach, constructivist approach and achievement of the university students.
Ways of Knowing and Epistemological Beliefs: Combined effect on academic performance
Educational Psychology, 2006
To obtain a more complete understanding of personal epistemology this study examines two epistemic paradigms-ways of knowing (specifically connected knowing and separate knowing) and epistemological beliefs (specifically beliefs about knowledge structure, knowledge stability, learning speed, and learning ability). Participants were 107 college students who completed questionnaires that assessed ways of knowing and epistemological beliefs. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that men score significantly higher on separate knowing. Path analyses revealed that the effects of ways of knowing on academic performance are mediated by belief in the speed of learning.
This study aimed to identify the relationship between teacher candidates' epistemological beliefs and academic achievement. The participants of the study were 353 teacher candidates studying their fourth year at the Education Faculty. The Epistemological Belief Scale was used which adapted to Turkish through reliability and validity work by Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk (2005) and consisted of three sub-dimensions (i.e. belief of learning depending on effort, belief of learning depending on talent and belief of the existence of only one truth). In data analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis were employed. The findings showed that the teacher candidates' epistemological beliefs differed based on major. In addition, it was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between only the belief of learning depending on talent, among other sub-dimensions of epistemological beliefs, and academic achievement.
Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 2013
This study investigates the relationship between epistemic beliefs and academic performance among a group of high school students in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Despite some contradictions, the general trend in the literature is that more mature students usually outperform students with naïve epistemic beliefs. We hypothesized that this relationship is reciprocal and learning strategies and task demands play a key role in building the schemas of epistemic beliefs. Accordingly, the requirements of traditional teaching and assessment methods might lead students to adopt less advanced epistemic beliefs that might be consistent with traditional learning strategies and task demands. To test this hypothesis, we compared the epistemic beliefs of high, average, and low level students (n = 165) in the traditional, developing educational system in UAE. Students were classified according to their performance on two formats of assessment; the regular exams and the continuous evaluation, using Arabic, standardized version of Epistemic beliefs Inventory prepared by Schraw et al, (2002). For the two assessment formats, the results were inconsistent with the traditional findings in the literature as advanced and medium students got higher scores (immature beliefs) than low level students on most epistemic beliefs, with the exception of the beliefs in Innate Ability (IA), where weak students got higher epistemic beliefs than advanced or medium level students. The results were discussed as an indication that academically better students were more able to adapt to the system requirement by adopting naïve epistemic beliefs. Also, the results were discussed within the Arab/Emirati cultural context.
A Comparative Study on Epistemological Beliefs Among Adolescent's Students
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2022
Epistemology is the theory of knowledge. Epistemological Beliefs are learner's personal philosophy concerning acquisition of knowledge, which can change over time depending upon one's personal life experiences. In these days and age, obstacles to reaching further knowledge have been removed by means of developments in information and communication technologies which have also promoted contemporary themes and content. Due to these developments people can now access any information at any time using these online media tools. One of the most important factors in achieving such accumulated knowledge is epistemological beliefs. A study was conducted in order to study the attitude of epistemological beliefs in terms of gender and family structure among students of secondary and higher secondary schools. The study consisted of 120 students out of which 64 were females and 56 were males. The present study tries to understand the change that has occurred among students in regards to their epistemological beliefs in the current era.
Measurement of Epistemological Beliefs and Learning Strategies of Elementary School Children
Knowing, Knowledge and Beliefs, 2008
Research about epistemological beliefs and learning strategies is a steadily growing area in educational psychology and in the field of education. Subjects in most of the published studies are adults or teenagers, only a few studies deal with children or even elementary school children. Some experts doubt if children have epistemological beliefs, others question if they have the competence to talk about abstract concepts like beliefs about knowledge and knowing or learning strategies. In addition measurement issues are far from being resolved. In this chapter we first give a short overview of existing studies about epistemological beliefs and learning strategies in elementary school children. We look at the connection between epistemological beliefs and learning strategies and propose that epistemological beliefs and learning strategies are closely related. In another step we review methodological issues. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the used measurements? Merits and shortcomings are discussed. We show that research on epistemological beliefs of children may benefit from the methodological discussion in the field of learning strategies and self-regulated learning. We address developmental prerequisites and methodological problems concerning research in this age group. Finally, we discuss the relevance of different measurements for future research with young children. 5.1 Measurement of Epistemological Beliefs Interviews and questionnaire measures are the most widespread methods to get information about epistemological beliefs of individuals. Looking back at early investigations, it is obvious, that a combination of both methods was quite popular from the very beginning of research in this field.
Taking Epistemological Beliefs into Account in Students’ Performance
Social Interactions and Networking in Cyber Society, 2017
The concept of beliefs has a long history and has been defined in a variety of ways. Beliefs are clustered as a set of interrelated beliefs in a broader, general belief structure or system; they can vary in strength. The more a belief is interrelated with others in this structure, the more difficult it is to alter the belief in question (
The aim of this study is to investigate the epistemological beliefs of university students according to their genders, classes, fields of Study, academic success and learning styles. This study was carried out with 246 females and 242 males, in total 488 university students. The data was collected through Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ), Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) and Personal Information Form. According to the findings, the epistemological beliefs do not differ depending on the gender of the students. According to the grade levels, it was found out that two beliefs, one of which is that “Learning depends on the effort” and the other one is that “There is one unchanging truth”, differ. However; the belief concerning that “learning depends on ability” does not differ. It was seen that the common interaction between the gender and the grade level did not differ significantly in the sub-dimensions of the beliefs concerning that “learning depends on effort” and of the beliefs concerning that “learning depends on ability; whereas it differs meaningfully in the sub-dimension of the beliefs that “There is one unchanging truth”. Results showed that the males in the second grade believed that there is more than one unchanging truth. It was realized that the epistemological beliefs of the students differ according to their fields of study; however, they do not differ according to the common effect of the academic success and the field of Study. It was understood that the students from the field of social sciences in the sub-dimension of the belief concerning that “learning depends on effort”; the students from the field of health in the sub-dimension of the belief concerning that “learning depends on ability”; the students from the field of science-techniques were more developed/mature in the sub-dimension of the belief concerning that “There is one unchanging truth”. It was determined that a great majority of university students have “Assimilating” and “Converging” learning styles. It was seen that there is not a meaningful difference in the sub-dimension of the beliefs concerning that “learning depends on effort” in terms of different learning styles. On the other hand, it was realized that there is a meaningful difference in the sub-dimensions of the beliefs concerning that “learning depends on ability” and of the beliefs that “There is one unchanging truth” in favour of the students who have “Diverging” learning styles. It was suggested for the further studies to investigate the epistemological beliefs of the university instructors and the personal characteristics (locus of control, learned helplessness) of the students.
Recent research has shown interest in studying the relationship between epistemological beliefs and numerous aspects of learning. A new question interests us: Is this kind of relationship homogeneous across cultures? This study focuses on the relationship between epistemological beliefs, learning conceptions, and approaches to study. A sample of Chinese (n ¼ 299) and Flemish (n ¼ 324) first-year university students in Beijing, China and Flanders were involved in the study. A structural equation model (SEM) relating the three concepts was applied to the sample data, largely confirming the theoretical assumptions. The results validated the postulation that epistemological beliefs predict students' conceptions of learning, which in turn are related to specific approaches to study. Multiple group analysis using SEM was applied and the structural weights model was confirmed across the two cultural groups. Mean level variations of the three main concepts were detected between the Chinese and Flemish groups. The results identified in the study offer valuable contributions to a deeper understanding of the interplay between epistemological beliefs and student learning from a cross-cultural perspective. Implications for learning and instruction are discussed.