Beliefs about knowledge and knowing of Thai University students : dimensions and developemnt of personal epistemology.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the structure and nature of beliefs about knowledge and knowing of Thai university students and (b) to examine whether these beliefs are different among students with different periods of years spent at the university, i.e., first-year and graduating students. Methods: A 39-item questionnaire, covering the five hypothetical dimensions proposed by Schommer, was administered to 830 students in a Thai university, of which 398 were first-year students and 432 had just completed their undergraduate programs. The participants were asked to indicate how they agree or disagree to 39 statements on knowledge and knowledge acquisition. Results: Through principal component analysis, five factors of personal epistemology were extracted: Nature and Speed of Learning, Source and Nature of Knowledge, Nature of Successful Learning, Structure of Knowledge, and Stability of Knowledge. The dimensional structure was very complicated, and items covering different hypothetical dimensions were grouped together under one factor. The graduates had significantly epistemologically more developed beliefs about knowledge than the first-year students. Conclusion: The first finding seems to support the dimensional structure of the personal epistemology held by Thai university students, yet still much more empirical research is necessary to investigate Thai and other Asian students. The second finding suggests that the undergraduate education facilitates the development of perspectives toward knowledge and knowing, provided that these two groups of students share similarities in many aspects. A valid questionnaire instrument needs to be developed considering the socio-cultural contexts of the participants and its psychometric validity.