Role of Epistemological Beliefs and Learned Helplessness in Secondary School Students' Learning Science Concepts From Text

This study examined the relationship between two variable sets: (a) epistemological beliefs (quick learning, simple knowledge, certain knowledge, and innate ability) and learned helplessness and (b) conceptual understanding and application reasoning in conceptual change learning (CCL). Hypothetical...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational psychology 1995-06, Vol.87 (2), p.282-292
Main Authors: Qian, Gaoyin, Alvermann, Donna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Concept Formation
Educational psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
High School Students
Human
Learned Helplessness
Learning
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure
Rural Environments
Science education
Sciences
Self image
Social research
Student Attitudes
Students
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study examined the relationship between two variable sets: (a) epistemological beliefs (quick learning, simple knowledge, certain knowledge, and innate ability) and learned helplessness and (b) conceptual understanding and application reasoning in conceptual change learning (CCL). Hypothetical dimensions underlying the Epistemological Belief Questionnaire and effects of different kinds of prior knowledge on CCL were explored with 212 students in Grades 9-12 in 13 science classes at a rural public high school in Georgia. Exploratory factor analyses revealed 3 factors underlying epistemological beliefs: Quick Learning, Simple-Certain Knowledge, and Innate Ability. Canonical correlation analyses show that beliefs about Simple-Certain Knowledge contribute the most to CCL, whereas beliefs about Innate Ability contribute the least. Beliefs about Simple-Certain Knowledge and Quick Learning are important factors in CCL.
ISSN:0022-0663
1939-2176
DOI:10.1037/0022-0663.87.2.282