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Physics learning has been the focus of much research over the last few decades. One line of such research has had knowledge about physics conceptual understanding as its object. Conceptual physics learning is found to be enhanced by the use of a variety of interactive engagement teaching and learning strategies. Another line of research in physics education has been through the development of computer-based learning environments as alternatives to traditional lecturing approaches. One such development has been that of a 'physics Studio' in which computer software delivers content and facilitates activities and communication, and instructors adopt a tutoring or learning facilitator role rather than lecturing role. Curtin University of Technology has drawn on both lines of research, resulting in the creation of a Physics Studio. In addition, a constructivist philosophy has provided guiding principles underpinning the conduct of first year physics classes. The aim of this study has been to evaluate students' physics learning in first year Studio classes. In particular, the aim has been to examine the role of students' epistemological beliefs (beliefs about knowledge and knowing) and their perceptions of the learning environment, in that learning. The study is situated across the fields of psychology and physics education research. It uses an ex-post facto comparative research design together with a qualitative methodology to compare students in Studio classes with those in physics classes in a traditional lecture stream. The use of multidimensional scaling as a technique for reducing complex data to a visual form for the purpose of describing and investigating the Studio learning environment is also explored. / Findings from this study suggest that a Studio approach that incorporates student-centred, social constructivist teaching and learning behaviours can result in improved learning for students in a discipline such as physics, which is normally associated with authoritative and didactic teaching. The results indicate that most students responded positively to the characteristics of the Studio approach. Their learning outcomes and improvement in conceptual understanding exceeded those of students in the traditional lecture classes. Students' beliefs about the structure of knowledge affected their cognitive outcomes through their preference for particular learning strategies. Students with 'naive', positivist epistemological beliefs were more likely to choose a narrow range of learning strategies and to have poorer cognitive outcomes. Students with more 'sophisticated', constructivist epistemological beliefs were more likely to choose a wider range of learning strategies and to have better cognitive outcomes. There is evidence from this work that the constructivist learning environment influences students' epistemological beliefs, and that their beliefs influence the way they respond to the learning environment. Using multidimensional scaling, spatial configurations of learning environment parameters for Studio and traditional groups, although structurally similar, were visibly different. In particular, the preferred learning environment of Studio students formed a complex web of interrelationships, whereas the preferred learning environment of students in the traditional course formed a simpler pattern with minimal interrelationships among parameters. / Other factors affecting the responses of students to the constructivist learning environment were their perceptions of the nature of the subject matter as represented by assessment tasks, and their expectations about the role of instructors. Some students were unable to change their epistemological beliefs and learning patterns to fit teachers' expectations. These findings have implications for teachers of physics who adopt or wish to adopt constructivist rather than didactic teaching methods, and for those implementing Studio approaches. An instructor's best efforts to implement alternative teaching approaches and methods can be circumvented by the beliefs and attitudes of students if they are inconsistent with the epistemology implicit in the teaching methods. For example, students with naive beliefs in the structure and certainty of knowledge need guidance and experiences that provide validity for different ways of learning physics. Students also need help to understand the concept of, and to value, self-reflective learning practices. Finally, learning in a Studio class is enhanced for students whose beliefs are consistent with, or change to suit, the philosophy underpinning instruction.

This reserach attemptedbto investigate the epistemological beliefs held by Turkish students through gender, grade level, and fields of the study by using Hofer and Pintrich&#039 / s (1997) Frame work. A total of 1557 sixth, eighth, and tenth grade students from &Ccedil / ankaya district of Ankara participated in the study. Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire and Demographical Questionnaire were administered to the students in order to determine their epistemological belSiefs and their background caharcteristics. Four main conclusions can be drawn from the current study / epistemological beliefs are multidimensional, epistemological beliefs vary as a function of gender, grade level, and fields of study. Specifically girls were found to have more sophisticated beliefs in justification of knowledge than boys. Results also supproted the idea that epistemological beliefs develops over time.tenth grade students had more sophisticated beliefs in source of knowledge, certainty of knowledge, and development of knowledge compared to sixth and eighth grade students. Besides, findings of the study revealed differences in epistemological beliefs of students across different major fields of the study. The students attending to the mathematics-science fields were fiund to have more sophisticated beliefs about justification of knowledge than the students attending to literature-social science fields.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of undergraduates’ metacognitive beliefs about writing and knowledge, ways that those beliefs may change during the semester, and the relationship of beliefs to their persuasive writing. Scales assessing epistemological and writing beliefs were given to students in lower-division rhetoric and writing courses (N=241). Generally, students experienced significant changes in their beliefs about knowledge, learning, and writing across the semester, as assessed by the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (Schommer, 1993) and writing beliefs scales (White & Bruning, 2002). Thus, students at the end of the semester reported beliefs that learning was a slow process and that knowledge was contingent. Although regressions predicting quality of students’ persuasive writing from the belief scales were not significant, qualitative analyses revealed interesting trends in papers from students with different epistemological stances and beliefs about writing, particularly with regard to their use of sources. / text

International students often desire to study overseas and many countries, including New Zealand, welcome them into their schools and universities. Students from Mainland China, one of the most populous countries in the world and, until quite recently closed to the rest of the world, have, in the past few years, made up the large majority of those who come to New Zealand to study. Those wishing to enter university after completing high school in China must acquire a specified level of English and successfully complete a two semester long Foundation Studies course, before being eligible for undergraduate study. Research into independent or self-regulated learning has shown that Western (mainly American) students are much more successful academically and enjoy their studies more if they are willing and able to self-regulate their learning. This research has occurred mostly in Western settings with Western participants. The present research using a mixed methods approach aimed to examine the self-regulated learning, epistemological beliefs, demographic factors and personality traits of Mainland Chinese students studying in the Foundation Studies course and to determine whether any of these factors appeared to have any appreciable effect on their experiences in the course and on their final outcomes. The research found that while no one specific factor seemed to determine experiences and outcomes, it would appear that personality characteristics of face, optimism and other Dependability scores may mediate factors such as ability (measured by grades), length of time in the country, self-regulated learning and motivational strategies (such as organisation, time management, effort regulation and self-efficacy), and previous independent learning to influence these experiences and outcomes. While it appears that the North American theory of self-regulated learning is applicable to these students, it seems that cultural beliefs may affect which self-regulatory factor is most salient in their academic outcomes. Further research would be valuable to clarify these differences.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE EDUCATION in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology (MSTE) at the University of Zululand, 2015. / This study set out to investigate beliefs held by pre service Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students about the nature of science and science teaching and learning. The research sample comprised one hundred and eighty four (184) third and fourth year (B.Ed) students majoring in mathematics and physical sciences. Data on students’ epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and science teaching and Learning were collected using two questionnaires: The Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ) and Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL). Furthermore the study sought to find out if those beliefs cohered with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Physical Sciences grades 10-12. The conceptual framework of this study was framed upon the preponderance of literature that carried the view that a teacher’s classroom practices are a consequence of two main dialectic influences: (a) the teacher’s epistemological beliefs about the nature of science, which may be either naïve or sophisticated; and (b) the teacher’s beliefs about teaching and learning, which may be either traditional or reformed. Accordingly, the conceptual framework guiding the study opined that teachers holding naïve beliefs about the nature of science, and those holding traditional notions of teaching and learning will be characterized by teacher-centred instructional approaches, while those holding sophisticated beliefs of the nature of science and a reformed view of teaching and learning will be associated with learner-centred instructional approaches. This study was a case study conducted at a South African university, and involved one hundred and eighty-four third and fourth year students registered for a four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree for the Senior and Further Education and Training phase. During these two final years of the programme students are engaged in science enquiry practices in their Methods modules. The participants were registered in physical science and mathematics education. Intact groups were used, so there was no sampling undertaken to select participants. Data were collected by the use of (a) the Nature of Science as Argument Questionnaire (NSAAQ), to determine epistemological beliefs held by the participants about the nature of science, as well as the concurrence of those beliefs with the views about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS; and (b) the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire, to determine the beliefs held by preservice education students about science teaching and learning. Data analysis involved the use of both descriptive statistical methods to decipher patterns and general trends regarding the epistemological beliefs about science held by participants, and their beliefs about science teaching and learning, as well as inferential statistics to test both a priori and a posteriori hypotheses. Similarly, statistical analysis was carried out to determine whether or not third- and fourth-year pre-service science education students held beliefs about science teaching and learning that were in agreement with the pedagogical content beliefs about science teaching and learning espoused by the NCS. The study found that pre service students held significantly more sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science at fourth year than at third year level. The results also showed that fourth year students demonstrated a significantly higher level of ‘reformed oriented teaching and learning beliefs’ about science than did the third year students. The results however showed that third and fourth year students held beliefs that were not in line with the beliefs espoused by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). These results support studies which have found that student teachers become more sophisticated in their epistemological beliefs towards graduation. The findings also showed that the B.Ed programme is succeeding in developing both epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and teaching and learning. The degree to which the programme succeeded in developing these beliefs was however quite small. This study recommends that further investigations be done to determine whether students who hold sophisticated epistemological beliefs about the nature of science and ‘reformed beliefs about science teaching and learning’ also demonstrate superior science teaching skills

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This thesis examines in four parts a collection of philosophical arguments dealing with war. The conclusions drawn are that war is a definable and applicable concept, that above the level of biological reactions war is the result of beliefs, that an objective distinction exists between aggressive and defensive actions, and that war is only justifiable in the protection of core rights. The first part analyses competing definitions of war. It is argued that the concept of war is philosophically appropriate and captures the conceptual common denominator between particular wars. The essence of war is defined as “a condition of open-ended violence”. Part Two explores the causal relationships between metaphysical and epistemological beliefs and war. It is held that war cannot be explained away as an unalterable fact of the universe, hence deterministic explanations fail in favour of the conclusion that wars are the product of ideas and ideas are volitionally obtained. The third part continues an exploration of determinist accounts of war and examines how various theories of human nature attempt to explain why war occurs. For methodological purposes human nature is trisected into biological, cultural, and rational aspects. Theories that attempt to interpret war using only a single aspect are inadequate, for each aspect must logically presuppose the existence and hence the influence of the others. It is concluded that human wars are the product of ideas, but ideas are distinguishable between tacit and explicit forms. Tacit forms of knowledge evolve through social interaction and sometimes have unintended consequences; war on the cultural level can be the product of human action but not of human design (Ferguson), hence attempts to abolish war by reason alone are bound to fail. Part Four assesses the application of ethical and political reasoning to war. It is argued firstly that morality, in the form of universalisable core rights and socially generated general rules of conduct, must not be removed from the sphere of war. Secondly it is concluded that the ideal just government exists to protect rights, from which it will follow that defensive wars and wars of intervention to protect rights are morally supportable.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the relationship among preservice science teachers&rsquo / informal reasoning regarding nuclear power plant construction, epistemological beliefs and metacognitive awareness. Throughout 2010-2011 fall and spring semesters, a total of 674 pre-service science teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through Schommer&rsquo / s Epistemological Questionnaire, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, and Open-ended Questionnaire Assessing Informal Reasoning regarding Nuclear Power Usage. MANOVA, correlational analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted. The analyses revealed that the differences between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / epistemological beliefs within the two decision making groups were not statistically significant. Besides, results of the bivariate correlation revealed that there were statistically significant correlation between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / total argument construction and all the dimensions of SEQ except omniscient authority. Also, there was a significant correlation between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / certain knowledge dimension of SEQ and their counterargument construction. Moreover, the differences between pre-service science teachers&rsquo / metacognitive awareness within the two decision making groups were not statistically significant. Results of the bivariate correlation revealed that there was a significant correlation between preservice science teachers&rsquo / metacognitive awareness and informal reasoning outcomes. Finally, stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that pre-service science teachers&rsquo / information management strategy was the only significant predictor for their rebuttal construction. Declarative knowledge was the best predictor of preservice science teachers&rsquo / counterargument construction while the second best predictor was certain knowledge for their counterargument construction. Finally declarative knowledge was the only significant predictor for the amount of preservice science teachers&rsquo / reasoning modes.

Children’s beliefs about mathematics involve epistemological beliefs about the subject, its nature and how it works, as well as beliefs about who can and cannot do mathematics. While children’s beliefs about mathematics have been linked to their achievement in mathematics, there is little research that explores beliefs about mathematics in the New Zealand context. A general concern is that students do less well than they could at mathematics; hence many people give up on and disengage from mathematics. This study explores children’s and their teachers’ beliefs about mathematics and is set against a backdrop of prevailing achievement discourses, both in New Zealand and abroad, that define people’s perceived abilities as usually based on ethnicity and gender. It also considers the multiple worlds of the child, the worlds of mathematics beliefs and of doing school mathematics, the child’s relationships with these worlds and with others who inhabit them. The study combines complementary theories and methods to examine espoused and enacted mathematics beliefs by adopting a predominantly sociocultural perspective and including a combination of constructivist and pragmatic theories as well as multiple methods of accessing and analysing beliefs. In order to develop a picture of mathematics beliefs, I collected data from a number of sources: mathematics beliefs questionnaires from 823 children at 17 schools, drawings from 180 children at two focus schools, video recordings of multiple mathematics lessons in two focus classrooms and observations. The following year, I revisited, observed and interviewed nine focus children and their teachers. I applied multiple analysis ‘frames’ to the data: factor analysis, adapted visual frameworks, metaphors and themes. By combining a variety of methods and applying a number of different analysis perspectives, this study exposed a rich and complex landscape of beliefs about mathematics. In particular, the children’s drawings communicated mathematics beliefs by using metaphors such as ‘maths as problem solving’, ‘maths as useful’, ‘maths as life’, and ‘maths as brain burn inducing’. The children and teachers exhibited a range of beliefs about the world of mathematics and who belongs to this world by positioning certain people as good at mathematics, not good at mathematics, or in certain cases, both positions depending on the context. In terms of assigned mathematics identities, both children and teachers refer to the ‘Asian as good at maths’ discourse but do not position Māori and Pasifika as weak; gender was not viewed as important. On the other hand, the children’s responses were influenced by their ethnicities, gender, socioeconomic status and mathematics achievement levels. The implications for primary school mathematics relate to the powerful influence of how mathematics is done, taught and learnt within the dominant context of the Numeracy Projects which governs ability groupings, the dance of the mathematics class, the ascendency of strategy over algorithm, and the notion that there are multiple ways to solve problems. In particular, the implications of inequality inherent in mathematics ability grouping warrants addressing.