Abstract
It has been established by physics education researchers that there is a correlation between the learner's behavior, their epistemological beliefs with which they come to the classrooms, and their success in a course. This study of Indian students and teachers explores expectations and beliefs in learning physics at the secondary and tertiary levels by making use of the Maryland Physics Expectation (MPEX) survey, which has been tested for both its validity and its reliability. The MPEX was administered to a sample of 265 Indian students at three different levels of study: (i) XII standard (high school), (ii) undergraduate (Bachelor of Science), and (iii) master's degree (Master of Science in Physics, MS). In India, a pre-post instruction difference between the attitudes of class XII, undergraduate, and master's students is observed with favorable improvement in master's students as compared to deterioration in both class XII and undergraduate students. A comparison of these results with those reported in similar studies conducted in four other countries (U.S., Turkey, Philippines, and Thailand) indicates that there is a difference between the U.S. students and those of the other three countries and also between U.S. experts and Indian teachers. In all countries (U.S., India, Turkey, Thailand, and Philippines) the basic trend of expectation from pre to post test remained the same---there was a deterioration observed in all levels of students. Indian MS students were an exception. A significant difference was observed in the expectations of U.S. experts and Indian teachers. The score of favorable views of Indian class XII and undergraduate students was observed to be less than U.S. students in many clusters. No significant difference was found between Indian male and female students' expectations at any level of study. This study shows that most Indian students have nowhere near an expert's expectations even after instruction, which might affect their motivation and success in physics courses and may have long-term implications on the quality of physics education in schools, colleges. and universities and the scientific research aspirations of the country.
Highlights
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy which deals with the study of knowledge and beliefs
This study addresses the following research questions. (i) How do the attitudes and expectations of Indian physics students compare between class XII, undergraduate (UG), and master’s degree (MS) levels of study? (ii) How do these expectations shift during before and after instruction at each level? (iii) Is there a difference in attitudes expectation between male and female students? (iv) How do the attitudes and expectations of Indian students compare to those of other countries for which comparison data is available?
How do the overall attitudes and expectations of physics students compare between class XII, undergraduate, and master’s level of study?
Summary
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy which deals with the study of knowledge and beliefs. In the context of science, epistemology deals with the nature of science and scientific knowledge by raising questions such as (i) how we know what we know, (ii) how to create new knowledge, (iii) how one draws inferences, and (iv) how one makes sense. Students’ epistemological beliefs and attitudes have great impact on their approaches of learning and time spent on organizing their knowledge structure. Educational researchers characterize epistemological beliefs in different ways. Schommer characterized epistemological beliefs as a system made of almost independent dimensions about knowledge and knowing [1]. Research has shown that students’ expectations in physics, which emanate from attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about
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