Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the transformative potential of undergraduate research in teacher education. The study was built on an assumption that undergraduate research can lead to transforming epistemological beliefs. The researchers designed an action research project to engage the preservice teachers in research activities including small-scale, empirical investigations into societal issues; and research-based discussions over a period of eleven weeks. The study was done with twenty-seven preservice teachers studying in a public sector university of Pakistan. The data were mainly collected qualitatively through field notes, a critical friend, and participants’ interviews. The data indicated that two forms of undergraduate research—research-based and research-tutoring—collectively lead to the epistemological development of preservice teachers. Initially, participants believed that knowledge was fixed. However, in time, they started viewing uncertainty in knowledge. The findings imply that undergraduate research has the potential to serve as a transformative pedagogy and can change preservice teachers’ epistemological beliefs.