Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley

Learning style is affected by individual differences such as gender, academic and cultural background (Hyland, 1993). However ethnicity is indicated to be the main factor in influencing learning styles (Park, 2000 and Ewing, 1993). In relation to the above statements, Malaysia, a multiracial coun...

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Main Author:	Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English English
Published:	2006
Subjects:	Study skills - Klang Valley Study and teaching(Higher) - Malaysia
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/142/1/549001_FPP_2006_1.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.142
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-upm-ir.1422013-05-27T06:45:55Z Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley 2006-03 Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir Learning style is affected by individual differences such as gender, academic and cultural background (Hyland, 1993). However ethnicity is indicated to be the main factor in influencing learning styles (Park, 2000 and Ewing, 1993). In relation to the above statements, Malaysia, a multiracial country provides a rich source of information in finding the relationship between ethnicity and learning styles. Although the three major races, the Malays, Chinese and Indians, are given equal opportunities to further their studies in the institutions of higher learning in the country they were brought up in different cultural backgrounds that influenced the development of their own style of learning. This study examined the learning styles of multi-ethnic students’ in four selected universities in Klang Valley in terms of gender, program of studies and academic achievement levels. Using a modified Honey and Mumford learning Style Questionnaire, 291 valid responses from two public and private universities were subjected to further quantitative analyses of the study. The result of the descriptive analyses revealed that the multi-ethnic students exhibited all the four learning styles that were Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist style. Reflector style was found to be the most preferred learning style by the multi-ethnic students while the Activist style was the least preferred. The male and female students demonstrated different patterns of learning styles even though the Reflector style was the most preferred style of both genders. The arts and science students seemed to exhibit similar patterns of learning styles except for the Malay students. The students from IPTA and IPTS too demonstrated similar pattern of learning styles. However the result of Chi-Square Test showed that there was no significant difference in the learning styles among ethnicity, between genders and program of studies. Similarly, the ANOVA did not show any significant difference in the academic achievement among students with different learning styles. Based on the results, five conclusions are made. First, the result of the study is congruent with the learning style theories by Kirton (De Ciantis and Kirton, 1999), Kolb (1984), and Honey and Mumford (1986). Second, The Malay,Chinese and Indian are considered as all-rounder learners. Third, the learning styles have no relationship with academic achievement. Fourth, ethnicity has no bearing on learning styles among multi ethnic tertiary students. Finally, the learning styles are not significantly different between male and female students, and between science and arts students. The study has contributed new knowledge in the literature of learning styles especially the one based on Malaysian context. Besides providing more insight in understanding multi-ethnic students’ learning styles, the study also provides recommendations for higher institutions in Malaysia, providers of extension education and also creates the need for further research in this area. Study skills - Klang Valley Study and teaching(Higher) - Malaysia 2006-03 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/142/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/142/1/549001_FPP_2006_1.pdf application/pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Study skills - Klang Valley Study and teaching(Higher) - Malaysia Faculty of Educational Studies English
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English English
topic	Study skills - Klang Valley Study and teaching(Higher) - Malaysia
spellingShingle	Study skills - Klang Valley Study and teaching(Higher) - Malaysia Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
description	Learning style is affected by individual differences such as gender, academic and cultural background (Hyland, 1993). However ethnicity is indicated to be the main factor in influencing learning styles (Park, 2000 and Ewing, 1993). In relation to the above statements, Malaysia, a multiracial country provides a rich source of information in finding the relationship between ethnicity and learning styles. Although the three major races, the Malays, Chinese and Indians, are given equal opportunities to further their studies in the institutions of higher learning in the country they were brought up in different cultural backgrounds that influenced the development of their own style of learning. This study examined the learning styles of multi-ethnic students’ in four selected universities in Klang Valley in terms of gender, program of studies and academic achievement levels. Using a modified Honey and Mumford learning Style Questionnaire, 291 valid responses from two public and private universities were subjected to further quantitative analyses of the study. The result of the descriptive analyses revealed that the multi-ethnic students exhibited all the four learning styles that were Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist style. Reflector style was found to be the most preferred learning style by the multi-ethnic students while the Activist style was the least preferred. The male and female students demonstrated different patterns of learning styles even though the Reflector style was the most preferred style of both genders. The arts and science students seemed to exhibit similar patterns of learning styles except for the Malay students. The students from IPTA and IPTS too demonstrated similar pattern of learning styles. However the result of Chi-Square Test showed that there was no significant difference in the learning styles among ethnicity, between genders and program of studies. Similarly, the ANOVA did not show any significant difference in the academic achievement among students with different learning styles. Based on the results, five conclusions are made. First, the result of the study is congruent with the learning style theories by Kirton (De Ciantis and Kirton, 1999), Kolb (1984), and Honey and Mumford (1986). Second, The Malay,Chinese and Indian are considered as all-rounder learners. Third, the learning styles have no relationship with academic achievement. Fourth, ethnicity has no bearing on learning styles among multi ethnic tertiary students. Finally, the learning styles are not significantly different between male and female students, and between science and arts students. The study has contributed new knowledge in the literature of learning styles especially the one based on Malaysian context. Besides providing more insight in understanding multi-ethnic students’ learning styles, the study also provides recommendations for higher institutions in Malaysia, providers of extension education and also creates the need for further research in this area.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir
author_facet	Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir
author_sort	Syed Mohamad, Syed Jamal Abdul Nasir
title	Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
title_short	Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
title_full	Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
title_fullStr	Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
title_full_unstemmed	Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley
title_sort	learning style among multi-ethnic students in four selected tertiary institutions in the klang valley
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
granting_department	Faculty of Educational Studies
publishDate	2006
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/142/1/549001_FPP_2006_1.pdf
_version_	1747810145912487936

Learning Style among Multi-Ethnic Students in Four Selected Tertiary Institutions in the Klang Valley

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