Abstract
Examining how students’ epistemic beliefs (EB) influence their cognition is central to EB research. Recently, the relation between students’ EB and their motivation has gained attention. In the present study, we investigate the development of the relationship between students’ EB and their achievement goals (AG) over grades 5–11. Previous studies on this topic are limited, in both number and range, and have produced inconsistent results. We performed a cross-sectional study, ranging over grades 5–11, and a 3-year longitudinal study (n = 1230 and 323, respectively). Data on students’ EB and AG were collected via questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a two-factor goal model (Mastery and Performance goals) and a structure of students’ EB comprising Certainty, Source, Development, and Justification. For each grade, students’ CFA scores on the respective goals were regressed on their scores on the EB dimensions by orthogonal projection to latent structures analysis. Although results indicated a weak relation between students’ EB and AG, trends in the cross-sectional data were largely replicated in the longitudinal study. Though naïve EB were in general associated with performance goals and sophisticated EB with mastery goals, the transition to upper secondary school was associated with changes in the relationship between students’ EB and AG. We discuss how the commonly used formulations of EB items may affect their ability to measure the naïve-sophisticated continuum, in turn affecting the predictive roles of EB dimensions.
Highlights
Many educational systems stress the need to help students develop their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, that is, their epistemic beliefs (EB), that in turn are supposed to generate productive approaches to learning (Elby et al 2016)
Naïve beliefs were in general associated with performance goals and sophisticated beliefs with mastery goals, this relationship did not apply for all beliefs and at all grades
We suggest using bi-polar items, with mixed directionality to avoid acquiescence effects, or a balanced mix of naïvely and sophisticatedly poled beliefs within each dimension (Danner et al 2015). Both the cross-sectional and longitudinal study showed altered patterns for the relationships between EB and mastery goals after the transition to upper secondary school in grade 10. These changes were paralleled by changes in relative importance of EB constructs in the models predicting performance goals, again in both the cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Summary
Many educational systems stress the need to help students develop their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, that is, their epistemic beliefs (EB), that in turn are supposed to generate productive approaches to learning (Elby et al 2016). Increased attention has been aimed at a broadened perspective on the process of thinking about knowledge and knowing, in other words epistemic cognition, incorporating motivation, metacognition, and conceptual change (Sinatra 2016). In this strand of research, exploration of the relation between students’ EB and their motivation for engaging in thinking about knowledge is central (Chinn et al 2014). This was pinpointed by Sinatra (2016), who claimed that “One of the most intriguing aspects of epistemic cognition is exploring how thinking about knowledge influences and is influenced by other constructs, such as motivation and emotion”. Students with sophisticated EB about the source of knowledge are likely to hold mastery goals, that is, desire to learn for the sake of learning, and take a more active role in learning
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