A Theoretical Framework of Core and Peripheral Beliefs in Application

The study to be reported here extends the current understanding of epistemological beliefs by taking into account another set of beliefs related to learning that have often been overlooked. This study, basing on empirical data collected via semi-structured interviews from 29 student teachers in Australia, examines how core beliefs about knowing are related to peripheral beliefs about learning. A theoretical framework is developed for considering these beliefs about knowing in relation to beliefs about learning as an overall set of epistemological beliefs- such links between the developmental epistemological beliefs and student learning research have not been made in the literature to date. As a group, it is found, students ’ beliefs about knowing ranged from a focus on knowledge as absolute and received to a view that knowledge was constructed and reasoned. The categories related to learning reflected a range of beliefs from reproductive through to more transformative beliefs about learning. A relationship was noted between the more sophisticated beliefs about knowing and transformative beliefs about learning. Implications are discussed