Özet:

This study seeks to test the reliability and validity of the Epistemological Beliefs Scale for 7th and 8th graders developed by Schommer et al. (2005) for a group of 7th and 8th graders in Turkish culture. The original scale is in English and comprised of 21 items in a four-factor model. The scale was first translated to Turkish and then presented for review to twelve experts specialized in the fields of language, content, measurement and evaluation. In line with the suggestions made by the experts, the scale was revised and two-stage process was carried out. In the first stage, the scale was administered to a group of 21 students at the Department of English Language Teaching in Mersin University a week apart to determine the equivalence between the English and Turkish forms of the scale. In the second stage, the scale was administered to a total of 689 students, selected among 7th and 8th graders studying at the central districts of Mersin, Turkey, through convenience sampling. The results of the Explanatory Factor Analysis aimed at examining the construct validity of the scale reveal a 3-factor model with 14 items. The model was confirmed in the confirmatory factor analysis (χ²/sd= 1.96, RMSEA= .03, SRMR= .06, GFI= .97, CFI= .94). The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was .66 for the first factor, .53 for the second factor, and .32 for the third factor. The discriminant validity of the sub-dimensions of the scale was examined based on the difference between the group averages of the upper and lower percentile ranges. The analyses show that there is a significant difference between the scores from the upper and lower 27th percentile(t(186)= 26.503, 46.594, 34.609,  p< .001). Based on the data, it can be argued that the Epistemological Beliefs Scale was a reliable and valid measurement tool to be used for further studies.

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