In the United Kingdom, university science undergraduates specialize in a single science subject for the entire 3-4 years of study. This study examines images of the nature of science held by science students in their final year at university. Data are drawn from a longitudinal interview study of 11 students engaged in open-ended project work at…

In these workshop materials, Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development is graphically portrayed. This is followed by: (1) an epistemological overview of positions two to five of the Perry scheme (what to learn, how to learn, how to think, and how to judge in context); (2) an overview of Perry scheme instrumentation; (3) Perry rating…

Explores gender differences in the knowledge constructed about World War II by 11- and 12-year-old Scottish pupils. Reveals the young women's work showcased individuals while the young men framed World War II information using a world view. Illustrates the epistemological differences that can exist between male and female students as they…

William Perry's model of college students' epistemological orientation, which focuses on students' developmental progress, and Joseph Royce's model, which treats epistemological orientation as preference for one of three ways of knowing, are described and compared. (MSE)

Background: Research indicates that achievement goals influence cognitive engagement, which, in turn, influences academic achievement. We believe that there are other individual difference variables in the realm of personal epistemology that may also directly or indirectly influence cognitive engagement; specifically, epistemological beliefs and…

This study looked at the instructional and assessment effects of using learning journals in three distance asynchronous computer conferencing courses (n = 18, n = 16, n = 17). The instructor used a design-research methodology: each iteration of the course involved modifications to how learning journals were used based on analyses of the responses…

A study explored the structures of language learners' beliefs about learning in general, or epistemological beliefs, and their beliefs about language learning in particular. Subjects, 97 college students learning Japanese at various levels in midwestern universities, completed a 132-item belief questionnaire. Factor analyses identified four…

The relationship between students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and their conceptions of prose coherence was examined. Sequencing and unity were categorized as mature conceptions. Students with context-oriented beliefs about the nature of knowledge were more likely to report mature coherence conceptions than students with fact-oriented…

Research on high school students using the Perry scheme (progressing from dualism to multiplicity, contextual relativism, and dialectic reasoning) suggests gifted students are at least one stage ahead of their agemates. While most students are grasping the notion of unanswered questions, gifted students are seeking structures to help them explain…

Describes how one college professor begins each semester by asking his students, "How does who you are and where you stand in relation to others shape what you know about the world?" Suggests that by enabling students to speak out of their unique experiences, the class can better cope with the power relations within every classroom…

Interviewed six first-year college students in an introductory physics course about their beliefs about physics. Characterized the students' beliefs about the structure of physics knowledge as isolated facts or a coherent system; content of physics knowledge as formulas or underlying concepts; and process of learning physics as receiving…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate students' views on models and modelling in science as well as the role that models play in learning, using a theoretical framework of models in learning. Students' views on models in science were investigated using a pencil-and-paper questionnaire given to 275 students from Grade 8 (13 years old) to…

Personal epistemological beliefs, what individuals believe about the nature of knowledge, have been known to influence many aspects of learning. This study examines the relationships between the epistemological beliefs of teacher education students and their learning in a case-based hypermedia learning environment. Data were collected from a set…

Students experience many forms of victimization at school, yet few studies address more than one form of victimization. In this study, we explored the incidence of multiple forms of peer victimization, including direct verbal and physical, relational, and sexual harassment victimization among urban middle school students. We examined the overlap…

A study involving 42 students enrolled in a physics course was conducted to document students' epistemologies and their concurrent views about knowing and learning. Analyses revealed a spectrum of epistemological commitments commensurable with positions from objectivism to relativism. Implications to classroom environment are discussed. (ZWH)