Do Beliefs about Knowledge Predict Occupational Therapy Students’ Critical Thinking? A Longitudinal Correlational Study

Beliefs about knowledge and knowing, or epistemic and ontological cognition (EOC), are potential influences on critical thinking, yet little research exploring these relationships has been published in educational literature or in occupational therapy (OT). This study examined the association between domain-general and OT-specific EOC and critical thinking in OT students. The Epistemological Beliefs Inventory, modified Four-Quadrant Scale, and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal were administered to a convenience sample of 102 OT students, before and after the didactic portion of an OT program. Results of logistic regression indicated that only the general belief in an omniscient authority as a source of knowledge was a statistically significant predictor of critical thinking, both before and after the didactic portion of the program. These findings partially support the hypothesis that EOC and critical thinking are related. Domain-general EOC and OT-specific ontological cognition also became more sophisticated over time, but OT-specific epistemic cognition and critical thinking did not change significantly.