Personal Epistemology of Elementary School Students in the United States and Argentina

• In Event: 72.065 - Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: 72.065-5 - International Perspectives in Student Motivation

Abstract

Personal epistemology, which refers to individuals’ beliefs about knowledge, is an important component for promoting deeper learning and engagement and higher-level critical thinking. To examine developmental and cultural influences on personal epistemology, 80 fourth-grade and sixth-grade students in the United States and Argentina were asked to list items that looked like knowledge to them and provide a rationale for why they thought the item looked like knowledge. The majority of students described knowledge as something gained from external sources, but some sixth-grade students held a more sophisticated belief of themselves as active constructors of knowledge. Cultural comparisons showed that students in the United States were more likely than Argentinian students to describe knowledge as relating to intelligence.

Authors

• Regina Rotshtein, University of Toledo

• Florian C. Feucht, University of Toledo

• Andres Acher, Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg

• Kristen Porter, University of Toledo

• Lindsey Haubert, University of Toledo