Epistemological Beliefs and Academic Achievement

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the relationship between teacher candidates' epistemological beliefs and academic achievement. The participants of the study were 353 teacher candidates studying their fourth year at the Education Faculty. The Epistemological Belief Scale was used which adapted to Turkish through reliability and validity work by Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk (2005) and consisted of three sub-dimensions (i.e. belief of learning depending on effort, belief of learning depending on talent and belief of the existence of only one truth). In data analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis were employed. The findings showed that the teacher candidates' epistemological beliefs differed based on major. In addition, it was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between only the belief of learning depending on talent, among other sub-dimensions of epistemological beliefs, and academic achievement.