A study of epistemological beliefs of EFL learners across gender and educational level
Roya Nayebi Limoodehi, Abdorreza Tahriri
2014
International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology
The present study sought to investigate the impact of EFL learners' educational level and gender on the five dimensions of their epistemological beliefs regarding structure of knowledge, stability of knowledge, source of knowledge, ability to learn and speed of learning. The participants who took part in the study were 101 EFL students studying English literature and English translation in the Islamic Azad University, Rasht Branch, Iran during the spring semester of 2013. They completed the
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... ian version of Epistemological Questionnaire (Schommer, 1990) . The findings showed that there were no statistically significant differences between male and female EFL learners in terms of their epistemological beliefs. In addition, It was found that sophomore student's mean score was significantly higher than that of the freshman students on 'certain knowledge' and 'quick learning' sub-scales indicating that sophomore students had more naive beliefs about 'certain knowledge' and 'quick learning' than freshman students. Keywords: structure of knowledge; stability of knowledge; source of knowledge; ability to learn; speed of learning; gender; educational level Nayebi Limoodehi, R. & Tahriri, A. 18 Consortia Academia Publishing Developmental Models The Perry Scheme -Perry (1970) is given credit for beginning the developmental epistemology movement and the study of personal epistemology. He studied 80 male Harvard undergraduates over their four-year college experience, focusing on the students' intellectual development. From open-ended interviews with the students, Perry analyzed how many first-year students believe that simple, unchangeable facts can be transferred by a A study of epistemological beliefs of EFL learners across gender and educational level International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology 19 person with authority. When they reach their senior year, students believe that complex, tentative knowledge is resulted from reason and empirical inquiry. According to this study, personal epistemologies is considered as one-dimensional constructs in which individuals pass through these stages based on their cognitive development (Perry, 1970; Kegan, 1982; King & Kitchener, 2004 ). Perry's interviews were classified into four categories. Individuals begin with a dualistic perspective of knowledge, characterized by right and wrong, absolutist view and the belief that truth can be known and the role of the teacher is to communicate it. This is modified as multiplism, when individuals begin to recognize the existence of different viewpoints and the possibility of uncertainty. At the end of this period individuals see conflicting views as equally valid. The movement from multiplism to relativism is characterized by the recognition that some views are better than others. In the positions that follow, individuals develop a growing ability to form commitment within relativism. Although not all students in Perry's study started college as dualists, nor did all complete the trajectory the researcher found, the patterns suggested a structural, systematic progression of thought in their beliefs about knowledge, knowing, and the function of various educational processes.
doi:10.5861/ijrsp.2014.754
fatcat:u4y3uzqryjcu5fd2dhyo3dksom