Inductive and deductive justification of knowledge: epistemological beliefs and critical thinking at the beginning of studying mathematics

Abstract Epistemological beliefs are considered to play an important role in processes of learning and teaching. However, research on epistemological beliefs is confronted with methodological issues as for traditionally used self-report instruments with closed items, problems with social desirability, validity, and capturing domain-specific aspects of beliefs have been reported. Therefore, a new instrument with open items has been developed to capture mathematics-related epistemological beliefs, focusing on the justification of knowledge. Extending a previous study, the study at hand uses a larger and more diverse sample as well as a refined methodology. In total, 581 mathematics students (Bachelor of Science as well as pre-service teachers) completed the belief questionnaire and a test for mathematical critical thinking. The results confirm that beliefs can empirically be distinguished into belief position and belief argumentation, with only the latter being correlated to critical thinking.