Learning of assessment in teacher education: the role of epistemic beliefs

ABSTRACT Objective Being skilled in the development and use of assessments is crucial if teachers are to know whether their students are meeting learning objectives. Unfortunately, many preservice teachers hold beliefs at odds with views that are adaptive for the promotion of learning. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the relationships between epistemic beliefs and preservice teachers’ understanding of foundational concepts of assessment. Method Participants were 282 undergraduate students enrolled in an educational psychology course. Multiple regression was used to examine these relationships followed by a deductive analysis of field journal entries. Results Results revealed a relationship between epistemic beliefs and understanding of assessment. Those with beliefs in knowledge as more fluid and evolving made more connections between the course and their field experience and demonstrated greater understanding of foundational concepts. Conclusions Our findings suggest that teacher education programs should be structured in ways to promote these beliefs. Such beliefs may result in more effective teaching and assessment practices more congruent with the promotion of meaningful learning amongst the next generation of students. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Epistemic beliefs play a role in what is learned. (2) Epistemic beliefs are associated with metacognitive strategy use, reasoning skills, critical thinking skills, creativity, and motivation. (3) Assessment practices can shape students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge. What this study adds: (1) A mixed-methods examination of epistemic beliefs in teacher education. (2) Quantitative results reveal epistemic beliefs significantly contribute to the variance in preservice teachers learning of foundation concepts of assessment. (3) Qualitative results reveal students with more epistemic beliefs are more likely to make connections between coursework and field experiences.