Research article | Open Access
International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications 2025, Vol. 16(2) 17-29
pp. 17 - 29
Publish Date: December 31, 2025 | Single/Total View: 0/0 | Single/Total Download: 0/0
Abstract
In this study, we adapted the Epistemological Beliefs in Science Scale originally developed by Conley et al. (2004) for high school students in Türkiye. Some previous studies done in Türkiye have been conducted to adapt this scale for different target audiences and revealed different factorial structures from the original scale and lost some items. Therefore, we aim to investigate the scale's psychometric properties for high school students. We applied the scale to 1205 9th to 12th-grade students face-to-face in three public high schools in Yalova district in Türkiye. We used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the fit of the observed model to the expected model based on the theoretical framework developed by Conley et al. (2004). We also investigated the convergent and divergent validities of the scale. For scale reliability, Cronbach alpha and omega coefficients were calculated. We comparatively discussed the psychometric properties of the scale with previous studies. We have concluded that the factorial structure in this study was almost the same as in the original scale and can be considered to use in high schools in Türkiye. We also have some improvement suggestions for a better scale.
Keywords: Epistemological beliefs in science, scale adaptation, high school students.
APA 7th edition
AKGUN, O.E., OGAN-BEKIROGLU, F., SUZUK, E., & SIVGIN, C. (2025). Adaptation of The Epistemological Beliefs in Science Scale for High School Students in Türkiye. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 16(2), 17-29.
Harvard
AKGUN, O., OGAN-BEKIROGLU, F., SUZUK, E. and SIVGIN, C. (2025). Adaptation of The Epistemological Beliefs in Science Scale for High School Students in Türkiye. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 16(2), pp. 17-29.
Chicago 16th edition
AKGUN, Ozcan Erkan, Feral OGAN-BEKIROGLU, Erol SUZUK and Cansu SIVGIN (2025). "Adaptation of The Epistemological Beliefs in Science Scale for High School Students in Türkiye". International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications 16 (2):17-29.
Bahçıvan, E. (2014). Examining relationships among Turkish preservice science teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning, scientific epistemological beliefs and science teaching efficacy beliefs. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 6 (13), 870-882. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/14.13.870
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (1988). Measuring gender differences in intellectual development: A comparison of assessment methods. Journal of College Student Development. 29(6), 528–537.
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., and Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women’s Ways of Knowing, HarperCollins, New York.
Chan, K. W., & Elliott, R. G. (2004). Epistemological beliefs across cultures: Critique and analysis of beliefs structure studies. Educational Psychology, 24 (2), 123-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144341032000160100
Conley, A. M., Pintrich, P. R., Vekiri, I., & Harrison, D. (2004). Changes in epistemological beliefs in elementary science students. Contemporary Educational Psychology 29, 186–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.01.004
Fabrigar L. R., MacCallum R. C., Wegener D. T., Strahan E. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychological Methods, 4 (3):272–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.4.3.272
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
George, D. and Mallery, M. (2010). SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference (17.0 Update, 10th Edition). Pearson
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Prentice-Hall
Hofer, B.K (2004). Exploring the dimensions of personal epistemology in differing classroom contexts: Student interpretations during the first year of college. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 29(2), 129-163.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.01.002
Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67(1),88-140.
https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543067001088
Hu, L. & Bentler, P.M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55, https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Jehng, J. C. J., Johnson, S. D., & Anderson, R. C. (1993). Schooling and students′ epistemological beliefs about learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 18(1), 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1993.1004
Kampa, N., Neumann, I., Heitmann, P., & Kremer, K. (2016). Epistemological beliefs in science: A person-centered approach to investigate high school students’ profiles. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 46, 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.04.007
Kitchener, K. S., & King, P. M. (1981). Reflective judgment: Concepts of justification and their relationship to age and education. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 2(2), 89–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(81)90032-0
Kuhn, D. (1991). The skills of argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571350
Kuhn, D., Cheney, R., & Weinstock, M. (2000). The development of epistemological understanding. Cognitive Development, 15 (3), 309-328.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(00)00030-7
Kurt, F. (2009). Investigating students’ epistemological beliefs through gender, grade level, and fields of the study [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Middle East Technical University.
McDonald, R. P. (1999). Test theory: A unifed treatment. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGrawHill.
Ogan-Bekiroglu & Gulsen Sengul-Turgut (2011). Students’ general and physics epistemological beliefs: A twofold phenomenon. Research in Science & Technological Education, 29(3), 291-314 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2011.594790
Özkan, Ş. (2008). Modeling elementary students’ science achievement: the interrelationships among epistemological beliefs, learning approaches, and self-regulated learning strategies [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Middle East Technical University.
Perry, W. G., Jr. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Peterson, R. (2000). A meta-analysis of variance accounted for and factor loadings in exploratory factor analysis. Marketing Letters, 11, 261–275. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008191211004
Piaget, J., & Duckworth, E. (1970). Genetic Epistemology. American Behavioral Scientist, 13(3), 459-480. https://doi.org/10.1177/000276427001300320
Qian, G., & Alvermann, D. (1995). Role of epistemological beliefs and learned helplessness in secondary school students’ learning science concepts from text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(2), 282-292. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.87.2.282
Sadi, Ö., & Dağyar, M. (2015). High School Students’ Epistemological Beliefs, Conceptions of Learning, and Self-efficacy for Learning Biology: A Study of Their Structural Models. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(5), 1061-1079. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1375a
Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 498–504. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.82.3.498
Schraw, G., Bendixen, L. D., & Dunkle, M. E. (2002). Development and validation of the Epistemic Belief Inventory (EBI). In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 261–275). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410604316-22
Schiefer, J., Edelsbrunner, P. A., Bernholt, A., Kampa, N., & Nehring, A. (2022). Epistemic beliefs in science—a systematic integration of evidence from multiple studies. Educational Psychology Review, 34(3), 1541-1575.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09661-w
Stathopoulou, C., & Vosniadou, S. (2007). Exploring the relationship between physics related epistemological beliefs and physics understanding. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 32(3). 255–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2005.12.002
Stevens, J. P. (2002). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (4th ed.). Erlbaum. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410604491
Tsai, C. C. (1998). An analysis of scientific epistemological beliefs and learning orientations of Taiwanese eighth graders. Science Education, 82(4), 473-489.
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199807)82:4<473::AID-SCE4>3.0.CO;2-8
Tsai, C.-C., & Liu, S.-Y. (2005). Developing a multi-dimensional instrument for assessing students’ epistemological views toward science. International Journal of Science Education, 27 (13), 1621–1638. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690500206432