Abstract
Past studies have found that an individual's epistemological development is predicted from learning that is meaningful to the learner. The current research aims to address whether deep learning style is able to predict students' epistemological ability (self-authorship, which is defined as the internal capacity to construct and evaluate knowledge claims, to comprehend the nature of contextual knowledge, and to have independence in the acquisition of knowledge). The researchers hypothesized that the deeper the learning approaches adopted by students, the higher their self-authorship. Conversely, the more students utilize a surface approach to learning, the lower their self-authorship. A total of 346 students enrolled in a university in Indonesia participated in the study. The results showed support for both hypotheses, and we discussed the role of cognitive dispositions in the development of epistemological ability.
Highlights
The essence of higher education is to create 'thinkers', defined as those who possess self-reliance in thinking and a commitment to the search for truth of knowledge
Students' progression from absolute dependence on authority figures to gaining independence in constructing knowledge has been extensively studied within the framework of self-authorship theory, wherein such progression has been investigated since Perry's (1970) study of epistemological development and its various trajectories
The results implicitly indicate that students with a deep learning approach are independent learners, while students who adopt a surface learning approach are more dependent upon authority
Summary
The essence of higher education is to create 'thinkers', defined as those who possess self-reliance in thinking and a commitment to the search for truth of knowledge (see Hedges, 2009). Students with a more advanced epistemological development are objective, have more elaborate reading comprehension, are skilled information seekers, have a disposition for seeking the truth, and possess academic honesty (Valanides & Angeli, 2008; Bråten, 2008; Bråten & Strømsø, & Samuelstuen, 2005). They are able to think critically, to review theories, and to evaluate arguments (Kuhn, 1991; Kuhn, Cheney, & Weinstock, 2000). That selfauthorship is recognized as a benchmark of student achievement that has been shown to correspond to high academic achievement in a sample of students in America and Africa (Strayhorn, 2014; Pizzolato, et al, 2009)
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