Predicting Preservice Teachers' Cognitive Engagement With Goals and Epistemological Beliefs

Abstract

The authors examined relationships among achievement goals, epistemological beliefs, cognitive engagement, and application learning of 101 preservice teachers. The authors used an 84-item survey to measure achievement goals (learning and performance), epistemological beliefs (innate ability, certain knowledge, simple knowledge, quick learning, and omniscient authority), and cognitive engagement (meaningful and shallow). Also included was a measure of application learning that was based on an actual course test. Regression analyses showed that goals and beliefs were important for predicting meaningful and shallow cognitive engagement. The only statistically significant predictor of application learning was shallow cognitive engagement with a negative relationship.