Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Education

Primary Advisor

Dr. Patricia Adams

Second Advisor

Dr. Ryan Nichols

Third Advisor

Dr. Jeremy Denton

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study was to investigate how science educators' epistemological orientations, specifically, their leanings toward realism or instrumentalism, influence the degree of certainty in their instructional language. The study addressed a significant gap in science education literature by empirically analyzing whether educators' philosophical beliefs about the nature of scientific knowledge predict the language they use when teaching science. Data were collected through a researcher-developed survey, the Science Educators' Epistemological Beliefs and Classroom Language Practices Survey, which measured participants' epistemological positions and linguistic tendencies across a sample of current and former science educators in the United States. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between educators' epistemological orientations and their use of certainty-driven or tentative language in the classroom. Educators with realist leanings were more likely to communicate scientific content using definitive and authoritative language. However, those with instrumentalist perspectives employed language that reflected the provisional, model-based nature of science. These findings have implications for teacher preparation and professional development, particularly in fostering classroom discourse that accurately represents the nature of science as a dynamic and evolving field of inquiry.

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