Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana

Background. Learning style is the manner by which one learns. Every student has a different and unique learning style. However, the educational implication of learning style preferences has been a source of controversy among researchers and educators. Objectives. To determine the learning style pref...

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Main Authors: D B A Afrifa, J Quartey, S Kwakyee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: South African Medical Association 2022-10-01
Series:African Journal of Health Professions Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/ajhpe/article/view/338
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author D B A Afrifa
J Quartey
S Kwakyee
author_facet D B A Afrifa
J Quartey
S Kwakyee
author_sort D B A Afrifa
collection DOAJ
description Background. Learning style is the manner by which one learns. Every student has a different and unique learning style. However, the educational implication of learning style preferences has been a source of controversy among researchers and educators. Objectives. To determine the learning style preferences of clinical year physiotherapy students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 82 undergraduate physiotherapy students from two universities in Ghana. A data-capturing form was used to obtain participants’ sociodemographic information, while the Kolb learning style questionnaire was used to determine the learning style preferences of the students. The χ2 statistic was used to determine the association between gender and learning style preferences, as well as between level of study and learning style preferences. Results. The participants comprised 43 (52.4%) male students and 39 (47.6%) female students. Eight (9.8%) students preferred the accommodating learning style, 46 (56.0%) preferred the diverging learning style, 15 (18.3%) preferred the assimilating learning style and 13 (15.9%) preferred the converging learning style. There was a significant association between gender and preferred learning style (p=0.027), but no significant association between level of study and preferred learning style (p=0.179). Conclusion. This study revealed that the diverging learning style was the most preferred style, followed by the assimilating learning style. However, there was no association between gender and learning style preferences, as well as level of study and learning style preferences. Further research should be conducted to find the association between the learning environments and the learning style preferences.
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spelling doaj.art-5041065e64174a8e971006d931c9d83f2024-02-03T06:08:59ZengSouth African Medical AssociationAfrican Journal of Health Professions Education2078-51272022-10-0114314214510.7196/AJHPE.2022.v14i3.1309342Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in GhanaD B A Afrifa0J Quartey1S Kwakyee2Department of Physiotherapy, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Physiotherapy, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, GhanaDepartment of Physiotherapy, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, GhanaBackground. Learning style is the manner by which one learns. Every student has a different and unique learning style. However, the educational implication of learning style preferences has been a source of controversy among researchers and educators. Objectives. To determine the learning style preferences of clinical year physiotherapy students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 82 undergraduate physiotherapy students from two universities in Ghana. A data-capturing form was used to obtain participants’ sociodemographic information, while the Kolb learning style questionnaire was used to determine the learning style preferences of the students. The χ2 statistic was used to determine the association between gender and learning style preferences, as well as between level of study and learning style preferences. Results. The participants comprised 43 (52.4%) male students and 39 (47.6%) female students. Eight (9.8%) students preferred the accommodating learning style, 46 (56.0%) preferred the diverging learning style, 15 (18.3%) preferred the assimilating learning style and 13 (15.9%) preferred the converging learning style. There was a significant association between gender and preferred learning style (p=0.027), but no significant association between level of study and preferred learning style (p=0.179). Conclusion. This study revealed that the diverging learning style was the most preferred style, followed by the assimilating learning style. However, there was no association between gender and learning style preferences, as well as level of study and learning style preferences. Further research should be conducted to find the association between the learning environments and the learning style preferences.https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/ajhpe/article/view/338learning stylesghana
spellingShingle D B A Afrifa
J Quartey
S Kwakyee
Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
African Journal of Health Professions Education
learning styles
ghana
title Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
title_full Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
title_fullStr Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
title_short Learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana
title_sort learning style preferences among clinical year physiotherapy students in ghana
topic learning styles
ghana
url https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/ajhpe/article/view/338
work_keys_str_mv AT dbaafrifa learningstylepreferencesamongclinicalyearphysiotherapystudentsinghana
AT jquartey learningstylepreferencesamongclinicalyearphysiotherapystudentsinghana
AT skwakyee learningstylepreferencesamongclinicalyearphysiotherapystudentsinghana