An Analysis of Science Student Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs and Metacognitive Perceptions about the Nature of Science

Abstract

In recent years, the paradigm has been subject to a change in which positivism supporting objectivity based on experiments and mathematics has been replaced by post-positivism in science, which supports constructivism. Unlike positivism, this approach argues that knowledge may include scientists' bias and change over time (Terzi, 2005). At the same time, the constructivist approach emphasizes subjective factors in learning and regards individuals as an active participant of learning. Therefore, both teachers who guide the learning process and students who are active participants of this process are expected to have higher levels of awareness about how learning occurs as well as the sources and limitations of knowledge. They should also be aware of their cognitive awareness and control skills. Such expectations have given rise to two concepts, both of which have effects on learning: Epistemological and metacognition.The major goals for science education based on the postpositivist approach are learning knowledge and understanding the philosophy behind science education (Cepni, 2008; Dogru & Kiyici, 2005). Science is also argued to not only be a collection of but also a way of knowing; in order to comprehend science, students should understand the nature and structure of as well as how knowledge develops (National Research Council [NRC], 2007). Therefore, being informed about students' about knowledge referring to has become a significant issue (Acat, Tuken, & Karadag, 2010). In the related literature, the terms scientific knowledge, views about knowledge, and epistemological beliefs have been used as synonyms (Unal Coban & Ergin, 2008).Scientific refers to an individual's philosophical understandings about what science is, what reliable and valid knowledge is, and how it is produced and shared (Deryakulu & Bikmaz, 2003). Eroglu and Guven (2006) considered to be an individual's subjective about how knowing and learning occur, as well as thier about knowledge. Individuals are classified as or Sophisticated based on their beliefs. Naive individuals believe that knowledge is absolute and made up of independent parts. They also think that knowledge is produced by an expert who transfers it to students who have an innate ability to learn. A student's ability to learn is fixed and cannot be changed. Individuals with sophisticated beliefs, on the other hand, believe that knowledge changes over time and has a complex structure in which interdependent parts exist. For them, individuals construct knowledge through reasoning or experiments. They also think an individual's ability to learn may be improved, and learning occurs through student effort (Deryakulu, 2002). Individuals with sophisticated employ their cognitive processing strategies in the process of of which they are active participants, and frequently control their level of learning using metacognitive skills (Deryakulu & Buyukozturk, 2005).Epistemological help us understand the control strategies used by individuals to see whether or not their knowledge is correct, to evaluate new and to make significant decisions over their own life or others' lives (King & Kitchener, 1994; Kuhn, 1991; Sapanci, 2012). Perry (1981) argues that reflect the decision-making criteria used by individuals in regard to the limitations, acquisition, and absoluteness degree of and that develop based on an individual's about learning, teaching, and intelligence. Schommer-Aikins and Hutter (2002) found that have significant effects on an individual's comprehension skills, control skills about this comprehension, skills related to the interpretation of and the skill for maintaining academically difficult tasks. …