Understanding Students’ Beliefs About Knowledge and Learning in a Sociocultural Context: The Case of Korean Middle School Students

Abstract

This study attempts to construe underlying influences of culture and other features on the dimensions of students’ beliefs by investigating three components: the Korean curriculum, epistemological beliefs, and confidence in independent learning. The survey participants were Korean middle school students. For this study, the Epistemological Beliefs Scale developed by Chan and Elliott (Contemp Educ Psychol 27:392–414, 2002) was adopted. Statistical methodologies including factor analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, ANOVA, and t-tests were used. The research result replicates four dimensions of epistemological beliefs (i.e., Learning effort/process, Authority/expert knowledge, Innate/fixed ability, and Certainty of knowledge) that Chan and Elliott (Contemp Educ Psychol 27:392–414, 2002) identified. One main finding of this study is that Korean middle school students in general tended to value “Learning effort/process” but did not rely on “Authority/expert knowledge.” This feature might reflect changes in Korean tradition and educational values. This study also finds some differences by grade and gender in epistemological beliefs and confidence in independent learning. Female students were more likely to believe in “Authority/expert knowledge.” Upper-grade students were more likely than lower-grade students to believe in “Learning effort/process” and “Innate/fixed ability.” Research implications are discussed in the social and cultural context of Korea based on the fact that students are likely to form their beliefs about knowledge and learning in formal ways (e.g., teacher, subject, curriculum, and school rules) as well as informal ways (e.g., parents, discipline, culture, and social norms).