ARTICLE REVIEW

Article Review

Article Review

The author in the article states that people are continuously learning throughout their lives (Sessa, 2006). From both informal and formal education, they constantly interpret new information and evaluate it (Merriam & Caffarella, 2007). Through this learning process, people come to know and internalize knowledge. According to educational psychologists, assumptions or beliefs about knowing and knowledge play an important role in the learning process. In other words, to understand students' learning process, it is essential to examine students' epistemological beliefs. Although there is much evidence for the importance of the role of epistemology in the learning process (Bell & Linn, 2002; Corte, Eynde, & Verschaffel, 2002; Elder, 2002), only a few educational scholars have studied it.

The article states that epistemology from a developmental perspective is “a structure in which individuals construe the nature and origins of knowledge, of value, and of responsibility in a sequential and logical process” (Perry, 1970). "Ways of knowing" (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986), "epistemological reflection" (Baxter Magolda, 1992), and "reflective judgment" (King & Kitchener, 1994) are different terms in this research line. Epistemology as a system of beliefs is composed of more than one belief, and the beliefs within the system are more or less independent (Schommer-Aikins, 2002). Alternative concepts of epistemology include "epistemological theories" (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997) and "epistemological resources"(Hammer & Elby, 2002).

Intuitive theories of knowledge have been prominently studied by cognitive, developmental and educational psychologists (Bendixen & Rule, 2004; Hofer, 2001; Hofer & Pintrich, 1997, 2002; King & Kitchener, 2004; Kuhn, 2001; Muis et al., 2006; Schommer, 1994; Schommer-Aikins, 2004). Starting with Piaget (1950) and Perry (1970), this line of research has been interested in epistemological folk beliefs and theories, mainly their developmental progression and individual variations. For instance, King and Kitchener suggested that epistemological development ...