The purpose of this article is to illustrate the dynamic process involved in developing and utilizing a theoretical model in a mixed methods study. Specifically, I illustrate how the theoretical model can serve as the starting point in framing the study, as a lens for guiding the data collection and analysis, and as the end point in explaining the…

This study aimed to investigate the beliefs of English as foreign language (EFL) learners about speaking in English and being a good speaker of English through metaphor analysis. A phenomenological approach was adopted and 60 EFL learners completed a questionnaire with demographic questions and two prompts focusing on the characteristics of a good…

This paper utilizes a critical post-pragmatist epistemological lens in tandem with an extended case analysis to explore how student affairs professionals process truth claims related to student experience. Findings from the study, which include the limited usage of formal theory and the iterative reconstruction of informal theory, are used to…

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the interaction effects of gender and motivational beliefs on students' self-regulated learning. Specifically, three types of motivational beliefs under the Expectancy-Value Model were examined, namely self-efficacy, control beliefs and anxiety. Methodology: A quantitative correlational research design was used…

This study investigates how scaffolding type and learners' epistemological beliefs influence ill-structured problem solving. The independent variables in this study include the type of scaffolding (task-supported, self-monitoring) and the student's epistemological belief level (more advanced, less advanced). The dependent variables include three…

Integrating technology into science education provides opportunities to foster students' meaningful learning. This study focused on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and its connections to belief system in a science teaching context. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of preservice science teachers' (PST)…

This study was based on the hypothesis that students' epistemological beliefs could become more expertlike with a combination of appropriate instructional activities: (i) preclass reading with metacognitive reflection, and (ii) in-class active learning that produces cognitive dissonance. This hypothesis was tested through a five-year study…

Descriptive norms, which are beliefs about the most commonly exhibited behavior in a group, are commonly used in normative interventions to reduce harmful drinking and perceptions about the extent of drinking among peers. The present study examined if interventions utilizing gender personalized normative would decrease subjects' misperceptions and…

Psychologists have discovered a phenomenon called "Belief Bias" in which subjects rate the strength of arguments based on the believability of the conclusions. This paper reports the results of a small qualitative pilot study of undergraduate students who had previously taken an algebra-based introduction to statistics class. The subjects in this…

The study examined the relationship between the beliefs of senior staff Qatari national employees regarding training benefits as measured by the benefits of employee training, and employees' organizational commitment as measured by the three-component model of organizational commitment. This relationship was assessed through a quantitative…

The purpose of this research project was to use an experimental design research methodology to compare learning and attitudinal effects of two different design instructional strategies on randomly selected and assigned 11th and 12th grade students. Through the use of a common technological based problem, students were guided through a design…

In spite of the relative success of equal opportunity laws on women's status in the workplace, we know little about the influence of such legal interventions on people's attitudes and beliefs. This paper focuses, in particular, on how sexual harassment policy affects men's beliefs about the gender hierarchy. We employ an experimental design in…

The Educational Doctorate (EdD) at the University of Wolverhampton offers educational practitioners the opportunity to design a research enquiry based in, on or around their professional work. The cohort, reported on here, embarked upon their EdD studies during the 2007/08 academic year. This study reports on seven participants' learning…

Purpose: This study explored the perceptions of teachers regarding principal support for and understanding of effective writing instruction and whether certain areas of knowledge influence principals' actions and interventions. Research Design: Researchers surveyed teacher participants using the Principal's Support for Writing Instrument and also…

Examines the role of importance, novelty, and plausibility of message information in producing belief change. Demonstrates that significant belief changes only occurred when message information was high in importance, novelty, and plausibility. (NKA)