There has been a generalized discussion, in the past decades, in several countries, with regard to the quality of education. Governments are concerned that schools make sure that they provide their citizens with the adequate preparation to face the challenges of a globalized world and an information society. All over the world, nations have implemented educational reforms to give education a different focus in order to better organize production and work, civil life, and individual self-knowledge (Delors, et al., 1996).

Educational reforms have brought about transformations about the ways in which teaching and learning are carried out, and in every classroom a new way of understanding educational management takes place, in agreement with educational process. This is directly related to the education that pre-service teachers receive. For this reason, from a research perspective, there is a need to investigate about beliefs and understandings that students of teacher education programs have with regard to two basic pillars of the teaching and learning process: epistemology and learning. The current research resonates with the assumption that understandings or epistemological beliefs about learning reveal the kind of underlying thinking processes of individuals.

Epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning are conceptualized as cultural constructions and reflect the context in which they are learned. They are so crucial that they affect the decisions students make with regard to learning, knowledge, study strategies, etc. (Kennell, 2006; Hofer, 2001; Schommer-Aikins, 2004, 2002, 1998; Pajares, 1992).

From a phenomenological perspective it is stated that we “live” and “act” according to our intersubjectivities (Hofer & Pintrich, 2002).  It is usual to diagnose these beliefs and conceptions. With this information, those who are in charge of teacher preparation programs can monitor, enrich, and restructure curriculum strategies leading to a professional profile that is in agreement with the current educational reform.

The research question of the current study is What are the epistemological and learning conceptions of students enrolled in education programs who will eventually obtain the required certifications to teach in the educational system? The general objective is to analyze epistemological conceptions and concepts about learning from a sample of students enrolled in an Elementary Education program of a Chilean university.

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