Michelle M. Buehl

Beliefs About Academic Knowledge

Individuals beliefs about knowledge (i.e., epistemological beliefs) have become the focus of inquiry in the educational and psychological literatures. Based on an analysis of those literatures, we first propose that epistemological beliefs are multidimensional and multilayered. That is, individuals possess general beliefs about knowledge, as well as beliefs about more specific forms of knowledge (e.g., academic knowledge). Second, we examine the relationship between epistemological beliefs and learning in order to understand why such beliefs are important to educators. Third, we question whether beliefs about academic knowledge are truly general (i.e., unwavering across academic domains) or have a character reflective of the domain to which they are associated (i.e., domain specific). Finally, we explore some of the common problems in the research and suggest topics for future study.

Motivation and Performance Differences in Students’ Domain-Specific Epistemological Belief Profiles

Cluster analysis and analysis of variance procedures were used to identify students’ domain-specific epistemological belief profiles and to examine differences in students’ beliefs, motivation, and task performance. Four hundred eighty-two undergraduates completed measures regarding their beliefs about knowledge, competency beliefs, and achievement values relative to history and mathematics and participated in domain learning tasks. Cluster analysis was used to identify epistemological belief profile groups within the domains of history and mathematics. Students with more sophisticated belief profiles had higher levels of motivation and task performance. Although the configuration of profiles differed across domains, cross-domain analyses suggested a tendency for students to be relatively consistent in the sophistication of their beliefs across domains. These findings provide evidence of the dual nature of epistemological beliefs.

Teaching as Persuasion.

Abstract A design experiment was undertaken to explore the effects of science lessons, framed as persuasion, on students’ knowledge, beliefs, and interest. Sixth and seventh graders participated in lessons about Galileo and his discoveries focusing on the personal costs and public controversies surrounding those discoveries. In selected classrooms, lessons were teacher led, while others were student led. Participants’ knowledge, beliefs, and interest were compared to peers in other science classes. There were significant differences between persuasion and comparison classrooms on all variables. However, teacher-led lessons were more effective at changing students’ knowledge, whereas student-led lessons had more impact on students’ beliefs.

Profiling Persuasion: The Role of Beliefs, Knowledge, and Interest in the Processing of Persuasive Texts That Vary by Argument Structure.

Undergrauate participants read both a one-sided text on educational reform and a two-sided nonrefutational text on the V-Chip. Students completed topic-specific beliefs, knowledge, and interest measures and reacted to specific text characteristics. The results indicated that although both forms of text affected readers, the effects varied by the type of argument structure. Specifically, after adjusting for topic, the one-sided text was more effective in changing readers beliefs than the two-sided nonrefutational text, whereas the two-sided nonrefutational article was more effective in changing participants knowledge. The knowledge and interest profiles of more or less persuaded readers differed significantly for the two-sided nonrefutational text but not for the one-sided text. Readers reactions to the articles also differed by argument structure. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of readers processing of one-sided and two-sided nonrefutational texts.

The Persuasiveness of Persuasive Discourse.

Abstract This investigation explored why and how persuasion occurs. Toward this end, we examined the processing of two articles under conditions called for in the persuasion and conceptual change literatures. One unique aspect of the current study was the use of topic-specific measures of beliefs, knowledge (i.e., perceived and demonstrated), and interest. The performance of members of three educational communities (i.e., undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty) was compared, as was the knowledge and interest of more or less persuaded readers. One article argued that there are prenatal similarities among humans and other mammals, while the second presented a favorable view of same-sex marriages. Although both articles produced significant changes in readers’ beliefs, knowledge, and interest, there were performance differences by text, educational community, and persuasion group. Results showed that readers’ perceptions of their knowledge played a more significant role in persuasion outcomes than the knowledge they actually demonstrated. Outcomes suggest the need to look more closely at the relationship between knowledge and interest in subsequent studies of persuasion.

Using the Domain-Specific Beliefs Questionnaire with Adolescents Enrolled in High-Poverty, High-Minority Schools: Examining Psychometric Properties.

Recent interest in epistemic beliefs has given way to a proliferation of new measures. Yet, little is known about the psychometric properties of various measures when used with diverse populations. In this study, the authors explored the psychometric properties of a measure of existing epistemic beliefs, the Domain-Specific Belief Questionnaire (DSBQ; M. M. Buehl, P. A. Alexander, & P. K. Murphy, 2002), for a diverse population of students. The authors applied the DSBQs 4-factor model, which researchers have previously identified and confirmed, to data from 8th- and 9th-grade adolescents attending high-poverty, high-minority schools. Evidence suggested that the 4-factor model was not appropriate for this population. Subsequent analyses revealed a 2-factor model for 8th-grade students and a 3-factor model for 9th-grade students. This study underscores the importance of examining the appropriateness of using existing measures with diverse populations.