Abstract
Measurement is a critical issue in the study of individuals’ beliefs about knowledge. Given the prominence of the multidimensional conceptualization of epistemic beliefs, it is important to examine the multidimensional measures of beliefs more closely. An examination of literature reveals that although many studies have been conducted with the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire or related measures, there are variations with regard to the number of identified factors and the nature of the beliefs those factors are meant to represent. Further, additional knowledge dimensions have been proposed and new measures of multidimensional beliefs have been developed. Although some variations are to be expected due to the measures used, age of the participants sampled, and the forms of analyses employed, the role of students’ cultural background must also be considered. In this chapter, I discuss the psychometric properties of the existing measures as well as how the factors that have been identified vary depending on the characteristics of participants and the analyses conducted. Emergent patterns from the existing studies and implications for refining and developing measures in future research are discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bartholome, T., Stahl, E., Pieschl, S., & Bromme, R. (2006). What matters in help-seeking? A study of help effectiveness and learner-related factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 22, 113–129.
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (1992). Knowing and reasoning in college: Gender-related patterns in students’ intellectual development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women’s ways of knowing: The development of the self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books.
Bendixen, L. A., Dunkle, M. E., & Schraw, G. (1994). Epistemological beliefs and reflective judgment. Psychological Reports, 75, 1595–1600.
Bendixen, L. A., Schraw, G., & Dunkle, M. E. (1998). Epistemic beliefs and moral reasoning. The Journal of Psychology, 132(2), 187–200.
Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
Braten, I., & Stromso, H. (2005). The relationship between epistemological beliefs, implicit theories of intelligence, and self-regulated learning among Norwegian postsecondary students. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75(4), 539–565.
Braten, I., Stromso, H., & Samuelstuen, M. (2005). The relationship between internet-specific epistemological beliefs and learning within internet technologies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33(2), 141–171.
Buehl, M. M. & Alexander, P. A. (2004, July). Motivation and performance differences among domain-specific epistemological belief clusters. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.
Buehl, M., & Alexander, P. (2005). Motivation and performance differences in students’ domain-specific epistemological belief profiles. American Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 697–726.
Buehl, M. M., Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (2002). Beliefs about schooled knowledge: Domain general or domain specific? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 415–449.
Burns, C., & Bond, L. (2004). The relationship between mothers’ beliefs about knowledge and their experiences in parent education. Journal of Primary Prevention, 25(4), 417–439.
Byrne, B. M. (1994). Structural equation modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Cano, F. (2005). Epistemological beliefs and approaches to learning: Their change through secondary school and their influence on academic performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75(2), 203–221.
Cano, F., & Cardelle-Elawar, M. (2004). An integrated analysis of secondary school students’ conceptions and beliefs about learning. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 19(2), 167–187.
Chan, K., & Elliott, R. (2000). Exploratory study of epistemological beliefs of Hong Kong teacher education students: Resolving conceptual and empirical issues. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 28(3), 225–234.
Chan, K., & Elliott, R. G. (2002). Exploratory study of Hong Kong teacher education students’ epistemological beliefs: Cultural perspectives and implications on beliefs research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 392–414.
Chan, K., & Elliott, R. (2004). Epistemological beliefs across cultures: Critique and analysis of beliefs structure studies. Educational Psychology, 24(2), 123–142.
Clarebout, G., & Elen, J. (2001). The ParlEuNet-project: Problems with the validation of socio-constructivist design principles in ecological settings. Computers in Human Behavior, 17, 453–464.
Clarebout, G., Elen, J., Luyten, L., & Bamps, H. (2001). Assessing epistemological beliefs: Schommer’s questionnaire revisited. Educational Research and Evaluation, 7, 53–77.
Cole, R. P., Goetz, E. T., &Willson, V. (2000). Epistemological beliefs of underprepared college students. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 31(1), 60–72.
Conley, A., Pintrich, P., Vekiri, I., & Harrison, D. (2004). Changes in epistemological beliefs in elementary science students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29(2), 186–204.
Duell, O. K., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2001). Measures of people’s beliefs about knowledge and learning. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 419–449.
Dunteman, G. H. (1989). Principal components analysis. (Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Science, No. 07–069). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Elder, A. (2002). Characterizing fifth grade students’ epistemological beliefs in science. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 347–364). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Gorsuch, R. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd edition). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hofer, B. K. (1999). Instructional context in the college mathematics classroom: Epistemological beliefs and student motivation. Journal of Staff, Program, and Organization Development, 16, 73–82.
Hofer, B. K. (2000). Dimensionality and disciplinary differences in personal epistemology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 378–405.
Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67, 88–140.
Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 301–320.
Jehng, J. J., Johnson, S. D., & Anderson, R. C. (1993). Schooling and students’ epistemological beliefs about learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 18, 23–35.
Kang, N., & Wallace, C. (2005). Secondary science teachers’ use of laboratory activities: Linking epistemological beliefs, goals, and practices. Science Education, 89(1), 140–165.
Karabenick, S., & Moosa, S. (2005). Culture and personal epistemology: U.S. and Middle Eastern students’ beliefs about scientific knowledge and knowing. Social Psychology of Education, 8(4), 375–393.
Kardash, C. A. M., & Scholes, R. J. (1996). Effects of preexisting beliefs, epistemological beliefs, and need for cognition on interpretation of controversial issues. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 260–271.
Kardash, C. M., & Howell, K. L. (2000). Effects of epistemological beliefs and topic-specific beliefs on undergraduates’ cognitive and strategic processing of dual-positional text. Journal Educational Psychology, 92(2), 524–535.
Kim, J. O., & Mueller, C. W. (1978). Factor analysis: Statistical methods and practical issues. (Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Science, No. 07–014). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kuhn, D. (1991). The skill of argument. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Lampert, M. (1990). When the problem is not the question and the solution is not the answer: Mathematical knowing and teaching. American Educational Research Journal, 27(1), 29–63.
Lin, C. H. (2002). Effects of computer graphics types and epistemological beliefs on students’ learning of mathematical concepts. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 27, 265–274.
Loehlin, J. (1998). Latent variable models: An introduction to factor, path, and structural analysis (3rd edition). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Marra, R. (2005). Teacher beliefs: The impact of the design of constructivist learning environments on instructor epistemologies. Learning Environments Research, 8(2), 135–155.
Mason, L. (2000). Role of anomalous data and epistemological beliefs in middle school students’ theory change about two controversial topics. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 15, 329–346.
McDevitt, T., Sheehan, E., Cooney, J., & Smith, H. (1994). Conceptions of listening, learning processes, and epistemologies held by American, Irish, and Australian university students. Learning and Individual Differences, 6(2), 231–256.
Mertens, D. M. (1998). Research methods in education and psychology:Integrating diversity with quantitative & qualitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Mori, Y. (1999). Epistemological beliefs and language learning beliefs: What do language learners believe about their learning? Language Learning, 49(3), 377–415.
Neber, H., & Schommer-Aikins, M. (2002). Self-regulated science learning with highly gifted students” the role of cognitive, motivational, epistemological, and environmental variables. High Ability Studies, 13(1), 59–74.
Nussbaum, E., & Bendixen, L. (2003). Approaching and avoiding arguments: The role of epistemological beliefs, need for cognition, and extraverted personality traits. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28(4), 573–595.
Pajares, F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307–332.
Paulsen, M. B., & Feldman, K. A. (1999). Epistemological beliefs and self-regulated learning. Journal of Staff, Program, & Organizational Development, 16(2), 83–91.
Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt (Rinehart, & Winston).
Qian, G., & Alvermann, D. (1995). Role of epistemological beliefs and learned helplessness in secondary school students’ learning science concepts from text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 282–292.
Qian, G., & Pan, J. (2002). A comparison of epistemological beliefs and learning from science text between American and Chinese high school students. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 365–386). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ryan, M. (1984). Monitoring text comprehension: Individual differences in epistemological standards. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(2), 248–258.
Schoenfeld, A. (1992). Learning to think mathematically: Problem-solving, metacognition, and sense making in mathematics. In D. A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 334–370). New York: Macmillan.
Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–504.
Schommer, M. (1993). Epistemological development and academic performance among secondary students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–504.
Schommer, M. (1994). Synthesizing epistemological belief research: Tentative understandings and provocative confusions. Educational Psychology Review, 6, 293–319.
Schommer, M. (1995). Epistemological belief questionnaire for middle school students. Unpublished manuscript.
Schommer, M. (1998). The role of adults’ beliefs about knowledge in school, work, and everyday life. In M. C. Smith & T. Pourchot (Eds.), Adult learning and development (pp. 127–143). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Schommer, M., & Dunnell., P. A. (1992, April). Epistemological beliefs among gifted and non-gifted students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Schommer, M., & Dunnell, P. A. (1994). A comparison of epistemological beliefs between gifted and non-gifted high school students. Roeper Press, 16, 207–210.
Schommer, M., Crouse, A., & Rhodes, N. (1992). Epistemological beliefs and math text comprehension: Believing it is simple does not make it so. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 435–443.
Schommer-Aikins, M. (2004). Explaining the epistemological belief system: Introducing the embedded systemic model and coordinated research approach. Educational Psychologist, 39(1), 19–29.
Schommer-Aikins, M., Duell, O., & Hutter, R. (2005). Epistemological beliefs, mathematical problem-solving beliefs, and academic performance of middle school students. Elementary School Journal, 105(3), 289–304.
Schommer-Aikins, M., Mau, W., Brookhart, S., & Hutter, R. (2000). Understanding middle students’ beliefs about knowledge and learning using a multidimensional paradigm. Journal of Educational Research, 94, 120–128.
Schraw, G., Bendixen, L. D., & Dunkle, M. E. (2002). Development and validation of the Epistemic Belief Inventory (EBI). In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 261–275). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schraw, G., Dunkle, M. E., & Bendixen, L. D. (1995). Cognitive processes in well-defined and ill-defined problem solving. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 9, 523–538.
Sinatra, G., & Kardash, C. (2004). Teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs, dispositions, and views on teaching as persuasion. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29(4), 483–498.
Spiro, R. J. (1989). Epistemological beliefs questionnaire. University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Reading, Champaign, IL. [Unpublished raw data].
Thompson, B. (1997). The importance of structure coefficients in structural equation modeling confirmatory factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57(1), 5–19.
Thompson, B., & Daniel, L. (1996). Factor analytic evidence for the construct validity of scores: A historical overview and some guidelines. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56(2), 197–208.
Wood, P., & Kardash, C. (2002). Critical elements in the design and analysis of studies of epistemology. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 231–260). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Youn, I. (2000). The culture specificity of epistemological beliefs about learning. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 87–105.
Youn, I., Yang, K., & Choi, I. (2001). An analysis of the nature of epistemological beliefs: Investigating factors affecting the epistemological development of South Korean high school students. Asia Pacific Education Review, 2(1), 10–21.
Zwick, W., & Velicer, W. (1986). Comparison of five rules for determining the number of components to retain. Psychological Bulletin, 99(3), 432–442.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Buehl, M.M. (2008). Assessing the Multidimensionality of Students’ Epistemic Beliefs Across Diverse Cultures. In: Khine, M.S. (eds) Knowing, Knowledge and Beliefs. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6596-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6596-5_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6595-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6596-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)