Epistemological Beliefs of Engineering Students

This study examined undergraduate and graduate engineering students’ epistemological beliefs as a function of their educational level. Schommer’s (1998) Epistemological Questionnaire was used to assess the beliefs in quick learning, certain knowledge, fixed ability, and simple knowledge of 396 students attending two universities in Western Tennessee. Additional analyses examined the effects of background characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, and high school grade point average. Results indicated that freshmen and sophomores were more likely than juniors and seniors to have beliefs in quick learning and certain knowledge above and beyond the effects of the background characteristics. There were no significant differences in graduate students’ and undergraduate students’ beliefs. The results of this study also indicate that engineering students’ beliefs are related to their advancement in problem-solving processes in an undergraduate engineering curriculum.