Metric characteristics of the scale for measuring learning styles in the student population
Session
Psychology
Description
The purpose of this research was to verify the construct validity of the learning styles questionnaire in the student population. The learning styles questionnaire is based on the principles of Hony and Mumford's theory of the universal content and structure of learning styles. The research was carried out on a sample of 437, of which 145 are school children and 292 are students of social and natural sciences. Students are aged 15–23 years. To measure learning styles, the learning styles questionnaire (Honey & Mumford, 1986) was used, which measures four specific styles (pragmatists, reflectors, activists, and theorizers) through 40 items (ten for each style in particular). Applying exploratory factor analysis, three interpretable factors were extracted, and the structure of values in two-dimensional space was checked using the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) method. The resulting structure does not correspond to the expected structure according to Hony & Mumford's theory, i.e., the items were grouped into three higher-order values: theorizing style, reflective style, and pragmatic-activating style. Inner consistency of the scale expressed through Alfa Kronbah, is α=0,88. Moderate to high correlations were obtained between items. Analysis of variance and post hoc analysis did not verify differences in the context of learning styles between dominant learning styles in secondary and higher education, as well as insignificant gender differences in the context of learning styles. The theorist's style and the reflector's style remain the dominant learning options even during studies. The obtained findings confirm the validity of the questionnaire for the assessment of learning styles and show its applicability to the population of students and those of secondary schools for the purpose of assessing learning styles.
Keywords:
learning styles, pragmatist, reflector, activist, theorist, reliability
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-550-95-6
Location
UBT Kampus, Lipjan
Start Date
28-10-2023 8:00 AM
End Date
29-10-2023 6:00 PM
DOI
10.3107/ubt-ic.2023.33
Recommended Citation
Osmani, Qufli and Beka, Delvina, "Metric characteristics of the scale for measuring learning styles in the student population" (2023). UBT International Conference. 11.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/IC/PSYY/11
Metric characteristics of the scale for measuring learning styles in the student population
UBT Kampus, Lipjan
The purpose of this research was to verify the construct validity of the learning styles questionnaire in the student population. The learning styles questionnaire is based on the principles of Hony and Mumford's theory of the universal content and structure of learning styles. The research was carried out on a sample of 437, of which 145 are school children and 292 are students of social and natural sciences. Students are aged 15–23 years. To measure learning styles, the learning styles questionnaire (Honey & Mumford, 1986) was used, which measures four specific styles (pragmatists, reflectors, activists, and theorizers) through 40 items (ten for each style in particular). Applying exploratory factor analysis, three interpretable factors were extracted, and the structure of values in two-dimensional space was checked using the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) method. The resulting structure does not correspond to the expected structure according to Hony & Mumford's theory, i.e., the items were grouped into three higher-order values: theorizing style, reflective style, and pragmatic-activating style. Inner consistency of the scale expressed through Alfa Kronbah, is α=0,88. Moderate to high correlations were obtained between items. Analysis of variance and post hoc analysis did not verify differences in the context of learning styles between dominant learning styles in secondary and higher education, as well as insignificant gender differences in the context of learning styles. The theorist's style and the reflector's style remain the dominant learning options even during studies. The obtained findings confirm the validity of the questionnaire for the assessment of learning styles and show its applicability to the population of students and those of secondary schools for the purpose of assessing learning styles.