Mise en perspective des concepts de rapport aux savoirs et de croyances épistémologiques : une illustration à partir de recherches menées auprès d’étudiants universitaires

Abstract

This article attempts to build bridges between two concepts that have evolved in very distinct contexts, but also in different theoretical and methodological perspectives. These are the concepts of relationship to knowledges and epistemological beliefs. The first concept was developed in France and then in the French-speaking world to examine the reasons why some young people experience school failures, according to different approaches. The second concept emerged in the United States and was then deployed internationally to understand how students and teachers perceive knowledge and how it is constructed or acquired. At first glance, we could consider that these two theoretical constructs do not have points in common, but it turns out to be quite different when we take into account field data. Indeed, although the initial assumptions of these concepts are different, it appears that parallels can be drawn if we look at the results we obtained in two higher education research projects, one conducted with pre-service teachers in Quebec (Canada) and another with psychology students in Belgium.