Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and multiple-text comprehension among upper secondary students

Using a sample of 282 Norwegian upper secondary students, we examined whether two dimensions of topic-specific epistemic beliefs, concerning the certainty of knowledge and the justification for knowing, predicted students' understanding of seven texts representing partly conflicting views on climate change. Text comprehension was measured at three different levels. Topic knowledge and topic interest were included in the analyses as control variables. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that students' beliefs about justification for knowledge positively predicted text comprehension at all three levels. That is, students believing that knowledge claims about climate change should be based on rules of inquiry and the evaluation and integration of multiple information sources did better on the three comprehension measures.