The reliability and validity of inventories should be verified in multiple ways. Although the epistemological beliefs about the physical science survey (EBAPS) has been deemed to be reliable and valid by the authors, the axes or factor structure proposed by the authors has not been independently checked. Using data from a study sample we discussed…

Efforts to improve instructional task design often make reference to the mental structures, such as "schemas" (e.g., Gick & Holyoak, 1983) or "identical elements" (Thorndike & Woodworth, 1901), that are common to both the instructional and target tasks. This component based (e.g., Singley & Anderson, 1989) approach…

The main purpose of the current study is to examine the construct, convergent and discriminant validity of the Sources of Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (Usher & Pajares, 2009) in a Turkish sample. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986) served as the theoretical framework for the current study. According to Bandura (1986), people's…

Despite the recommended didactic strategy to teach Adolescent Reproductive Health in Cameroon using Competency Based Approach with entry through problem situations, a lot of resistance is till observed within biology teachers in this multicultural and linguistic country. This cross sectional study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)…

Quantitative literacy (QLT) represents an underlying higher-order construct that accounts for a person's willingness to engage in quantitative situations in everyday life. The purpose of this study is to retest the construct validity of a model of quantitative literacy (Wilkins, 2010). In this model, QLT represents a second-order factor that…

D. Wechsler (2008b) reported confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with standardization data (ages 16-69 years) for 10 core and 5 supplemental subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Analyses of the 15 subtests supported 4 hypothesized oblique factors (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning,…

Recognition that adverse events are a significant cause for morbidity and mortality has led to a rise in global efforts to improve patient safety. Adaptations are needed in healthcare institutions and at the educational preparatory level for all healthcare providers. One change surrounds the significance of patient-centered care, an important…

Using a national dataset containing responses from 14,527 college students at 136 institutions, this study empirically tested a theoretical model for fallibilist Christian spirituality. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated an acceptable fit between the specified model and the actual structure of the data, suggesting that a…

The Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI), as a theory-based and empirically validated instrument, was originally developed and widely used in the North American context. Through a strict translation procedure the authors translated the EBI into Chinese, and then administered it to 451 students in 7 universities in mainland China. The construct…

Existing representations of cognitive ability structure are exclusively based on linear patterns of interrelations. However, a number of developmental and cognitive theories predict that abilities are differentially related across ages (age differentiation-dedifferentiation) and across levels of functioning (ability differentiation). Nonlinear…

Models of personal epistemology have not been sufficiently integrated despite conceptual similarities. We attempted to model both dimensional and positional aspects of personal epistemology, as well as examine the domain specificity of these phenomena. The conceptual framework for this study was a new model of epistemic and ontological cognitive…

The authors build on literature related to the development of epistemic cognition, research on historical thinking, and studies of individuals' epistemic beliefs. They designed this study to explore, develop, and test a measure of epistemic cognition in history. They administered the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching History Questionnaire to…

This article describes a research project into the self-efficacy and anxiety of college English students at four universities in China. A total of 738 participants completed a questionnaire measuring self-efficacy and anxiety in writing in English. This was immediately followed by a writing task. The questionnaire used a seven point Likert type…

Civic competence is critical to the successful functioning of pluralistic democracies. Developing the knowledge, skills, and motivations for effective democratic participation is a national and global imperative that many higher education institutions have embraced through the teaching strategies of community-based learning and service-learning.…

Background: Epistemological beliefs are subjective theories of the structure and acquisition of knowledge. The instruments used to measure epistemological beliefs in educational psychology (see Duell & Schommer-Aikins, 2001) typically consist of questionnaires tapping general, decontextualized beliefs about knowledge or knowledge acquisition in a…