Why Are They Inconsistent? Discussing Norwegian History Student Teachers’ Understanding of the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching History Questionnaire, Through Cognitive Interviewing

Wagner discusses the challenges usually met when assessing epistemic beliefs in history through quantitative questionnaires. After a short review of these common problems—epistemic wobbling, epistemic inconsistencies, problems of reliability and influence of the different national cultural contexts—Wagner analyses how ten history student teachers (five male and five female) understood a Norwegian version of Maggioni’s BLTHQ (Beliefs about Learning and Teaching History Questionnaire) and reflected about their own epistemic beliefs. The analysis of these in-depth interviews paves the way for a discussion and a better qualitative understanding of the abovementioned problems.