Understanding middle students' beliefs about knowledge and learning using a multidimensional paradigm
DOI
10.1080/00220670009598750
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
1-1-2000
Publication Title
Journal of Educational Research
Volume
94
Issue
2
First Page
120
Last Page
127
ISSN
220671
Keywords
Epistemological beliefs, Instruction and testing, Middle school students
Abstract
Recent theory (Schommer, 1990) suggests that personal epistemology is multidimensional. The multidimensional epistemology structure with middle school students was tested in this study. Over 1, 200 students in Grades 7 and 8 completed an epistemological belief questionnaire. Prior theory, developed with college students, suggested 4 epistemological belief factors: Ability to Learn, Structure of Knowledge, Speed of Learning, and Stability of Knowledge. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to a random half of the sample indicated that a 3-factor model was a good fit to the data. That model was replicated with the second half of the data. Follow-up regression analyses indicated that the more students believed in gradual learning and incremental ability to learn, the higher GPA they earned. © 2000 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Open Access
Green Accepted
Preprint
Repository Citation
Schommer-Aikins, M., Mau, W., Hutter, R., & Brookhart, S. (2000). Understanding middle students' beliefs about knowledge and learning using a multidimensional paradigm. Journal of Educational Research, 94 (2), 120-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670009598750