Contributions of Epistemological Beliefs on Energy Literacy in Lower-Secondary School Students in Turkey

Abstract

Energy literacy has become a critical issue in recent years. The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of epistemological beliefs to energy literacy in lower-secondary school students in Turkey. Data were collected via self-report questionnaires from 656 lower-secondary school students in the Aegean Region of Turkey. To address the research questions, Pearson correlation and multiple regression were implemented. Descriptive results revealed that students had a low energy literacy mean score in the knowledge dimension whereas they had moderate mean scores in the behavioral and affective dimensions. Multiple regression results yielded statistically significant contributions of epistemological beliefs to energy literacy. Analysis revealed that the reasoning dimension positively predicted the energy literacy in the knowledge dimension whereas the authority and accuracy dimension did negatively. The results of this study suggest that advancing students’ epistemological beliefs can be a way to increase students’ energy literacy levels. Keywords: energy literacy, epistemological beliefs, lower-secondary school, regression analysis