Much research has been documented on the stage of students‟ intellectual and epistemological development during their studies and upon course completion. To a large extent the literature suggests that promoting students through the intellectual framework is a desirable feat. Indeed students graduating from university at the more developed stages of intellectual and epistemological sophistication are better equipped to synthesise evaluate organise and cross reference knowledge into different domains.
In this review modes of epistemological beliefs will be discussed as sources of valuable information to departments about the quality and nature of students‟ perceptions of learning and teaching. The results of recent research in epistemological and intellectual development will also be discussed; this perhaps being a mechanism to inform learning and teaching practices within the physical sciences.
