The aim of the study was to examine postgraduate theses on epistemological beliefs in science education in Türkiye. Data collected included the publication years, researcher genders, universities, disciplines, aims, methods, sample/study groups, time allocated to the research, and data collection tools. The thematic content analysis method was used in the study. The data were obtained from the doctoral and master's thesis published until 2022 (including 2022) inclusive held at the CoHE National Thesis Centre. Access was gained to 149 theses dealing with the subject of epistemological beliefs in science education. The theses in the study were classified with reference to the matrix prepared by Ormancı, Çepni, Deveci and Aydın. The data obtained were analysed using content and descriptive analysis methods. The majority of the theses aimed to investigate the effect of a certain learning-teaching method on epistemological beliefs and the relationship between epistemological beliefs and some variables. It was determined that scales and questionnaires were mostly used as data collection tools in the evaluation of epistemological beliefs. There is a need for studies on the effect of current science learning-teaching methods on the development of epistemological beliefs or the relationship between epistemological beliefs and 21st-century skills.Kaçar, 2023 505 epistemological beliefs do you mean 'advanced' are more information-technology-literate. Sound epistemological beliefs support people's development as lifelong learners.Research on epistemological understanding helps us understand how individuals analyse knowledge claims in structured and unstructured problems, how they evaluate new knowledge, and how they make fundamental decisions that affect their lives and the lives of others (King & Kitchener, 1994;Kuhn, 1991). However, epistemological beliefs how people relate new knowledge and concepts to their existing knowledge in the educational process and how people know knowledge. For example, beliefs about the nature of knowledge are related to strategy use, information processing, and conceptual change learning (Hofer, 2001). People develop conceptions of learning and teaching based on their epistemological beliefs (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). In this context, it is thought to be useful to examine epistemological beliefs a little more closely.
Epistemological BeliefsEpistemological beliefs are a philosophical concept and although there is no agreed definition in the literature, they are expressed by educators as beliefs about the nature of knowledge and justification for knowing. These beliefs consist of core beliefs about how people express knowledge, what the limits of knowledge are, and how it is acquired and processed (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997;Schommer, 1990;Schommer, 1994). Epistemological beliefs also emerge as critical interpretations of knowledge (Schommer, 1990).Psychological research on epistemological development began in the mid-1950s. Piaget (1950), using the term genetic epistemology, described his theory of...