Epistemology is a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and
justification of human knowledge (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997, p.88). First influenced by the genetic epistemology research of Jean Piaget, educational psychologists study epistemological development and beliefs to determine how students come to know what beliefs they have about knowledge and how epistemological beliefs affect cognitive processes (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). For example, William G. Perry, Jr. is credited for being the first educational psychologist to study the educational experiences of college students(Perry, 1970). Since then, Perrys research has served as a framework for epistemological development studies (Culver & Hackos, 1982;Fedler & Brent, 2004; Hofer & Pintrich, 1997;Schommer, 1990). ----Uit http://search.proquest.com/docview/212179837/72B040AB6A1142D5PQ/37? accountid=11077 From our point-of-view, the major problem with mainstream preoccupation with deductive, quantitative, hypothesis-testing research is thus not these methodologies as such. The problem is that the lack of explicit discussion on underlying basic assumptions in entrepreneurship research tends to imply an un-reflective attitude to the hidden claims and perspectives following from use of these methodologies. Behind the well-known set of statistical methodologies in the social sciences there are several unarticulated assumptions about ontology, epistemology and ideology that are actually problematic when applied to empirical entrepreneurship research. These assumptions - overlooked in order to make the phenomenon of entrepreneurship possible to investigate by means of the taken-for-granted methodologies - depict entrepreneurship as a logical mechanism in society that are caused by some variables and affecting others, thereby severely reducing the complexity of society and the economy. A dualistic world is assumed, where entrepreneurs, opportunities and technologies exist independently of each other. Likewise, entrepreneurs and their social interactions are reduced into simplistic models of psychological traits, rational decision making and economic exchange, and the entrepreneurial enterprises are rarely considered in research until they become registered firms and thus visible in official statistics. When successful, this research arrives at clear conclusions about correlations and cause-effect-relations in a muchsimplified world, conclusions that allegedly make it possible to predict and stimulate the entrepreneurial homo economicus into further bold endeavours. Such knowledge is also presented as neutral and objective, free from any disturbing interaction between researcher and the subjects of study. The process of producing scientific knowledge thereby borrows legitimacy from the reality-depicting, truth-seeking natural sciences, when the major theoretical foundation on which it is built actually belongs to the - highly political, almost religious - laissez-faire economics taken-forgranted in Western capitalism.
The relationship between epistemological beliefs, implicit theories of intelligence,
and entrepreneurial learning among economics students
The epistemological and methodological problems of economics: How
humans deal with uncertainty
Epistemological beliefs, moral reasoning, social engineering and
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