Students’ Need for Structure: The Forgotten Learning Styles Preference
2016 (English)In: Learning Styles and Strategies: Assessment, Performance and Effectiveness / [ed] Noah Preston, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2016, p. 12-20Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2016. p. 12-20
Keywords [en]
academic achievement, structure, students, teachers
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-29162Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85021904643ISBN: 978-1-63485-669-0 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:miun-29162DiVA, id: diva2:1040780
Note
The need for structure has not been analyzed to any great extent, even though previous research has shown its importance for students. The purpose of this study wasthereforeto identify, describe,andexamine the need forstructureamong teachers andstudents, as well asto understandstudents’perceptions ofthis need.The theoretical framework usedis based on the Dunns’learning styles model. Data were collectedusingthe learning styles test, the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS;n = 525), and students’ essays (n = 35) on study strategies, in which the concept of need for structure was analyzed. The study found that a) there is a great need for structure among students (54% to 68%), b) there is a statistically significant difference between students and teachers (p = .001), and c) there are qualitative changes in students’ perceptions of the content concept of high preferences for structure. The students’ responses were divided into the five following categories: need from outside, personality traits, asking forhelp, making one’s own structure,and consequences. The resultsindicate the need forenhancededucational strategiesandin-depthdidacticdiscussionon practicaleducationalactivities relating tostructureand the importance ofstudentsthemselves tocreate awareness ofthe need forstructuretobecome more autonomous.
2016-10-282016-10-282017-08-11Bibliographically approved