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Background . Individuals' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, have been linked to their comprehension, meta‐comprehension, persistence, and interpretation of information (e.g., Kitchener Ryan, 1984; Songer Schommer, 1990). Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that education predicted beliefs about the structure and stability of knowledge. Age predicted beliefs about the ability to learn. Conclusions . This evidence suggests that both age and education affect individuals' epistemological beliefs in unique ways. This may have implications for older adults who return to school eager to learn but with misunderstandings about the nature of knowledge, and younger adults who attend school with doubts about the malleability of the ability to learn.
Marlene Schommer (Tue,) studied this question.