Abstract:

There is growing evidence for the importance of well-developed epistemic cognition in science for improved student outcomes. Epistemic cognition is particularly important for the implementation of effective inquiry learning approaches. This study aimed to validate an existing instrument for measuring epistemic cognition about science in secondary age students in a culturally diverse population using an exploratory factor analysis approach. The participants were 11–16-year-old students in English medium private schools in the UAE (n = 439). The students were provided with a 26-item questionnaire, consisting of a four-point Likert response scale, designed to measure the four theorized domains of epistemic cognition in science: source of knowledge, certainty of knowledge, development of knowledge, and justification of knowledge. The responses were screened and then analysed using the exploratory factor analysis functions included in the Psych R package. The analysis provided evidence for four, internally consistent, domains of epistemic cognition in science, but some items were not associated with the initially theorized domains. Suggestions for the rewording or removal of items to increase domain alignment and scale reliability in culturally diverse samples are provided.

Keywords:

Epistemic cognition about science, inquiry learning, exploratory factor analysis, scale reliability.