Academic students' epistemic beliefs and the effect of background variables on them

People’s beliefs on knowledge and knowing (epistemic beliefs) have a role in their education. Various factors affect the formation and development of these beliefs. The aim of this research was to investigate the students' epistemic belief dimensions and levels in relation to their gender, majors and educational levels in Ferdowsi University. A descriptive survey method was chosen for this study. By using stratified random sampling method, a sample of 364 students was randomly selected from Ferdowesi University students’ population during the 210-2011 academic year. Students completed the "Epistemic Beliefs Inventory"(EBI). The validity of EBI was confirmed by specialists. Using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the reliability of the questionnaire was (α=0.79). A descriptive and analytical statistic methods were applied for summarizing data and testing the hypotheses. The results showed a significant differences in students' various epistemic belief, students’ gender, majors, and their epistemic belief levels. Higher education needs to incorporate epistemic beliefs in its curriculum structure and active learning methods and reinforce students’ epistemic beliefs.