Epistemological beliefs of gifted high school students

Abstract

This article examines gifted students’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, and how these beliefs relate to problem solving and academic performance. Sixty‐nine gifted high school students first completed an epistemological questionnaire and then wrote solutions to dilemmas presented in the form of Dear Abby letters. Descriptive statistics revealed substantial variability in students’ epistemological beliefs. Regression analyses indicated that the more students believed that the ability to learn is fixed at birth, that learning is quick or not‐at‐all, and that knowledge is unchanging, the more likely they wrote oversimplistic and unalterable solutions. Analysis of variance indicated that students performing below academic expectations were more likely to believe that the ability to learn is fixed at birth.