How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs
Psychology education presents challenges for both teachers and students due to its complex and multi-perspective nature. Fostering scientific reasoning and argumentation (SRA) in psychology is an important goal in secondary education and can help students navigate this complexity. However, existing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2546757 |
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| author | Marleen Evers J. Elen M. Vandecandelaere |
| author_facet | Marleen Evers J. Elen M. Vandecandelaere |
| author_sort | Marleen Evers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Psychology education presents challenges for both teachers and students due to its complex and multi-perspective nature. Fostering scientific reasoning and argumentation (SRA) in psychology is an important goal in secondary education and can help students navigate this complexity. However, existing research falls short of guiding teachers on how to teach SRA skills. This study looks at one aspect of this teaching practice, specifically the evaluation of SRA, and explores its relationship to teachers’ epistemological beliefs. We asked 31 psychology teachers from Belgium (Flanders) and the Democratic Republic of Congo to formulate assessment criteria and evaluate student responses using prompted criteria. The analysis revealed a focus on process and argumentation criteria, with difficulties in identifying and applying the epistemic criteria central to assessing SRA. Also, while the prompted criteria increased attention to argumentation quality, they did not ensure an accurate approach to SRA tasks, often reframing them as application or analysis tasks, nor an accurate use of epistemic criteria to assess the task. Teachers’ epistemological profiles were not reflected in their criteria, nor in their use of prompted criteria. The findings suggest a need for more in-depth research into teachers’ epistemic understanding of psychology as a scientific discipline. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7db57762d78d45efbbffda2b52be292c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2331-186X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-7db57762d78d45efbbffda2b52be292c2025-08-21T02:01:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2025-12-0112110.1080/2331186X.2025.2546757How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefsMarleen Evers0J. Elen1M. Vandecandelaere2Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumPsychology education presents challenges for both teachers and students due to its complex and multi-perspective nature. Fostering scientific reasoning and argumentation (SRA) in psychology is an important goal in secondary education and can help students navigate this complexity. However, existing research falls short of guiding teachers on how to teach SRA skills. This study looks at one aspect of this teaching practice, specifically the evaluation of SRA, and explores its relationship to teachers’ epistemological beliefs. We asked 31 psychology teachers from Belgium (Flanders) and the Democratic Republic of Congo to formulate assessment criteria and evaluate student responses using prompted criteria. The analysis revealed a focus on process and argumentation criteria, with difficulties in identifying and applying the epistemic criteria central to assessing SRA. Also, while the prompted criteria increased attention to argumentation quality, they did not ensure an accurate approach to SRA tasks, often reframing them as application or analysis tasks, nor an accurate use of epistemic criteria to assess the task. Teachers’ epistemological profiles were not reflected in their criteria, nor in their use of prompted criteria. The findings suggest a need for more in-depth research into teachers’ epistemic understanding of psychology as a scientific discipline.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2546757Epistemological beliefspsychology educationscientific reasoning and argumentationsecondary educationsubject didacticsTeachers & Teacher Education |
| spellingShingle | Marleen Evers J. Elen M. Vandecandelaere How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs Cogent Education Epistemological beliefs psychology education scientific reasoning and argumentation secondary education subject didactics Teachers & Teacher Education |
| title | How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| title_full | How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| title_fullStr | How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| title_full_unstemmed | How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| title_short | How psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning: a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| title_sort | how psychology teachers assess scientific reasoning a study of assessment criteria and epistemological beliefs |
| topic | Epistemological beliefs psychology education scientific reasoning and argumentation secondary education subject didactics Teachers & Teacher Education |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2546757 |
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