Epistemic beliefs among upper-secondary students in education for sustainable development

Abstract

This research project explores an educational context through two approaches. The first analyses the interpretability and role of the concept of sustainable development according to the writings of four syllabuses in the curriculum for Swedish compulsory school. Close reading of the syllabuses of Geography, History, Religious education and Civics rendered various demands of action-oriented knowledge development. Theoretical perspectives seem to be combined with implications of practical and action-oriented educational methods and goals. This aspect of action responsibility is more explicit in the syllabuses of Geography and Civics. As an analytical tool, thick and thin concepts understood as world-guided and action-guiding, were used to address education for rather than education about sustainable development. A Phronesian strategy is suggested by the authors to move students from a state of awareness to readiness and aptitude for action. Within such a holistic interpretation the development of knowledge is seen as a group process and the individual in balance with the welfare of others. The second approach is through an empirical study that sets out to answer two research questions. One of them concerns the dimensionality of epistemic beliefs among upper-secondary students involved in a transdisciplinary project called Food!, the other the relationship between the students’ evaluation of the project experience (outcome) and their epistemic beliefs. Following the tradition of Marlene Schommer a research instrument was constructed consisting of 26 domain-general items and 5 project-contextualized items. However, the current framework proposes only three dimensions: the structure of, the source of and the justification of knowledge. N=208 students from 14 upper-secondary schools and 2 folk high schools participated. Through exploratory factor analysis, support was indicated for five factors: transdisciplinary knowledge, certain knowledge, quick knowledge, collaborative knowledge and simple knowledge; followed by multiple regression analysis, in which three factors showed predictive power on the project outcome. For educational practice the awareness of the impact of epistemic beliefs on the outcome of the empirical context might motivate teachers to challenge their students and to discuss the epistemology of their specific school subjects. In addition teachers may rethink and expand their own conceptions of knowledge and knowing