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Variability of Higher Education Students’ Learning Styles Depending on Gender, Course, Degree and Institutional Context

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  • Pilar Alonso-Martín

    (Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas s/n., 21007 Huelva, Spain
    All authors contributed equally to this work and all are correspondence.)

  • Rocío Cruz-Díaz

    (Department of Education and Social Psychology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. Utrera, Km 1, ES-41003 Seville, Spain
    All authors contributed equally to this work and all are correspondence.)

  • Carmen Granado-Alcón

    (Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas s/n., 21007 Huelva, Spain
    All authors contributed equally to this work and all are correspondence.)

  • Rocío Lago-Urbano

    (Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas s/n., 21007 Huelva, Spain
    All authors contributed equally to this work and all are correspondence.)

  • Concha Martínez-García

    (Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Avda. de las Fuerzas Armadas s/n., 21007 Huelva, Spain
    All authors contributed equally to this work and all are correspondence.)

Abstract

In higher education it is important to consider learning styles of students to facilitate the teaching–learning process. The aims guiding the research were to describe the learning styles predominating among students in the field of the social sciences, to analyse the results with respect to gender, year of study, degree course and institution, and to perform correlation analysis between these variables. The data analyses were carried out with non-parametric statistics with a confidence level of 95%. The sample was composed of 636 students at the Universities of Huelva (UHU), Cádiz (UCA), and Pablo de Olavide of Seville (UPO), who completed the Honey–Alonso Learning Styles Questionnaire and reported sociodemographic and educational data. The results showed a significant preference for the Reflector style. Significant correlations were found in most variables highlighting that the courses showed an inverse correlation with the learning styles, the Activist, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles being less preferred as they progressed in the career. It is worth noting the significant direct correlation between Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles, but the Activist style inversely correlates with all three. As a complementary contribution, a proposal for intervention in classrooms with a sustainable perspective is offered. It is important to attend to the evolution in the preference of the learning styles that students acquire as they advance in higher education courses in order to facilitate a more optimal and sustainable teaching–learning process.

Suggested Citation

  • Pilar Alonso-Martín & Rocío Cruz-Díaz & Carmen Granado-Alcón & Rocío Lago-Urbano & Concha Martínez-García, 2021. "Variability of Higher Education Students’ Learning Styles Depending on Gender, Course, Degree and Institutional Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1659-:d:492975
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Maria Kalamas Hedden & Roneisha Worthy & Edwin Akins & Vanessa Slinger-Friedman & R. C. Paul, 2017. "Teaching Sustainability Using an Active Learning Constructivist Approach: Discipline-Specific Case Studies in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, July.
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    1. Wendy Xiomara Chavarría-Garza & Ayax Santos-Guevara & José Rubén Morones-Ibarra & Osvaldo Aquines-Gutiérrez, 2022. "Assessment of Multiple Intelligences in First-Year Engineering Students in Northeast Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.

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