Are learning approaches and thinking styles related? A study in two Chinese populations

This article presents the results of an investigation of the construct validity of J. B. Biggs's (1987) theory of learning approaches and of R. J. Sternberg's (1988) theory of thinking styles in two Chinese populations. The study is also an examination of the nature of the relations between the two theories. University students from Hong Kong (n = 854) and from Nanjing, mainland China (n = 215), completed the Study Process Questionnaire (J. B. Biggs, 1992) and the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992). Results indicated that both inventories were reliable and valid for assessing the constructs underlying their respective theories among both Hong Kong and Nanjing university students. Results also showed that the learning approaches and thinking styles are related in the hypothesized ways: The surface approach was hypothesized to be positively and significantly correlated with styles associated with less complexity, and negatively and significantly correlated with the legislative, judicial, liberal, and hierarchical styles. The deep approach was hypothesized to be positively and significantly correlated with styles associated with more complexity, and negatively and significantly correlated with the executive, conservative, local, and monarchic styles. Implications of these relations are discussed.     

Approaches to learning and academic achievement of Filipino students

Research has shown that a critical variable in determining academic achievement in different cultures and educational systems is approaches to learning. In this study, the author sought to determine whether this variable influences academic achievement among Filipino college students. The Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ; J. B. Biggs, 1987) was used to assess approaches to learning. The results indicated that (a) the LPQ was a valid instrument to assess the learning approaches of non-low-achieving Filipino college students; (b) the Deep and Achieving subscale scores of the LPQ were positively related to academic achievement even when the effects of school ability and prior academic achievement were controlled; and (c) with some slight exceptions, the relationship between the LPQ scale scores and academic achievement were generally similar between male and female Filipino students. Implications for the study of student approaches to learning in different cultures and educational systems are discussed.     

Approaches to Learning and Academic Achievement of Filipino Students

Research has shown that a critical variable in determining academic achievement in different cultures and educational systems is approaches to learning. In this study, the author sought to determine whether this variable influences academic achievement among Filipino college students. The Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ; J. B. Biggs, 1987) was used to assess approaches to learning. The results indicated that (a) the LPQ was a valid instrument to assess the learning approaches of non-low-achieving Filipino college students; (b) the Deep and Achieving subscale scores of the LPQ were positively related to academic achievement even when the effects of school ability and prior academic achievement were controlled; and (c) with some slight exceptions, the relationship between the LPQ scale scores and academic achievement were génerally similar between male and female Filipino students. Implications for the study of student approaches to learning in different cultures and educational systems are discussed.     

Values and learning approaches of students at an international university

This study indicates that values are statistically significant precursors to approaches to learning in a cohort of predominantly Bulgarian, German and Romanian students studying at a German university where the language of instruction in all subject areas is English. Values have been measured with the Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz et al. 2001), and approaches to learning have been assessed by the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987). The relationships between values and approaches to learning have been estimated by canonical correlation analysis. Results of the analysis suggest that values can be linked to learning approaches in a situation where students have left their home countries to undertake tertiary studies in a new social, cultural and educational environment. Four distinct pairings between values and learning approaches emerge whereby: (a) self-aggrandisement is linked to the achievement learning variable, (b) conservatism relates to the surface learning variable, (c) self-directedness is linked to the deep learning variable and (d) benevolent change is related to the learning strategies variable. The analyses for this research were conducted while the second author was a visiting scholar at the Flinders University Institute of International Education in Adelaide, South Australia. The assistance of Professor John Keeves in the implementation and interpretation of additional statistical analyses is gratefully acknowledged.     

Epistemological beliefs and approaches to learning: Their change through secondary school and their influence on academic performance

Background. In recent decades, two lines of research, phenomenographic and meta‐cognitive, have examined students' approaches and epistemological beliefs about learning. To date there has been very little research describing the change in epistemological beliefs in European secondary students, or analysing interrelationships between epistemological beliefs and approaches in order to explain their influence on academic performance. Aims. The first aim of this investigation is to analyse the change in epistemological beliefs and learning approaches in secondary students as they progress through their studies. The second aim is to examine the effects of epistemological beliefs on learning approaches, and learning approaches on academic performance. Sample. About 1,600 Spanish students, boys and girls, from several secondary schools took part in the study. They were between 12 and 20 years old and their average age was 14.79 years. Methods. Measures of epistemological beliefs (EQ: Epistemological Questionnaire), learning approaches (LPQ: Learning Process Questionnaire), and academic performance were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality of the EQ and LPQ questionnaires. In order to achieve our two aims, different statistical techniques were used: MANOVA and ANOVA for our first aim, and structural equation modelling for our second aim. Results. Throughout secondary education epistemological beliefs undergo change, becoming more realistic and complex, and deep‐approach scores decline significantly. It was shown that, as predicted, epistemological beliefs influenced academic achievement directly, and also indirectly via students' learning approaches. Conclusions. Our findings point to two conclusions. First, epistemological beliefs and learning approaches change as pupils advance in their studies. Second, the relationship between epistemological beliefs and academic achievement is mediated by approaches to learning.     

企业培训中员工的学习动机与学习策略的探讨

本研究在研制学习过程问卷的基础上,探讨了航修企业员工培训中学习动机与学习策略的匹配关系。研究表明:(1)学习方式包括学习动机和学习策略两个成分;(2)实用型学习动机的员工倾向于采用实用型学习策略,而应付型学习动机的员工倾向于采用应付型学习策略。这一结果证实了Marton等人关于学生的学习动机决定其学习策略的理论。     

Students' Personality Traits and Learning Approaches

This study examined students' usage of deep and surface approaches to learning as well as the relationship between students' personality attributes and their approaches to learning. Participants were 284 undergraduate education students registered with a South African regular university (females = 195, males = 89). They completed the Revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) (Biggs, Kember, & Leung (2001) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975, 1985). Data were analysed for differences in proportion endorsing learning approach type (deep, surface) and the association between learning approach and personality attributes. The students self-reported to use predominantly deep learning strategies and lower rather than high surface strategies. The personality attributes of Extraversion and Neuroticism were unrelated to self-reported primary learning strategy.     

Does the big five predict learning approaches?

The present study examines if the big five personality traits can statistically predict learning approaches. Four hundred and twenty (286 female and 134 male) university students from Shanghai, PR China volunteered to participate in the study. The participants responded to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Study Process Questionnaire. A cross-examination of the results from zero-order correlation, t-tests, multivariate analysis, and multiple-regression procedures indicated that the big five personality traits predict learning approaches to a certain degree. In this prediction, the conscientiousness and openness traits contributed the most in accounting for the differences in students' learning approaches. Conscientiousness is a good predictor for both the deep and the achieving approaches. Openness significantly predicted the deep approach to learning. Neuroticism is a good predictor for the surface approach to learning, whereas the agreeableness trait clearly predicted a learning approach that is not achieving. Finally, no distinct pattern was identified regarding the relationship of extraversion to any of the learning approaches.     

Using a small sample Q sort to identify item groups

A small sample of 40 second-year university students in Hong Kong were asked to perform a Q sort on the 36 items of a questionnaire used to assess six dimensions of student approaches to learning, the Learning Process Questionnaire. Participants were instructed to sort the items into as many groups as they liked with the only conditions being that all items within a group be as similar as possible in perceived meaning and that no item be placed into more than one group. By treating participants' responses as a form of multiple-choice data and by applying optimal scaling, three solutions were obtained. A two-dimensional plot of the optimal item scores for the first two solutions yielded 10 clearly defined item clusters suggesting a possible ten-factor model as opposed to the six-factor model found in studies of this questionnaire. The implications of using this approach to identify potential competing factor models, especially within a cross-cultural context, are discussed.     

The Interplay among Stereotypes, Performance-Avoidance Goals, and Women's Math Performance Expectations

This project was designed to examine whether and how achievement goals contribute to the effect of gender stereotypes on women's low expectancies for success on math tasks. Study 1 confirmed predictions from the Stereotyped Task Engagement Process (STEP) model (Smith, 2004) by demonstrating that, compared to a counter-stereotype situation, women reminded of the gender-stereotype endorsed performance-avoidance goals. Study 2 tested whether performance-goal adoption differed between men and women. Results showed that, compared to men, women in a stereotype salient math situation were more likely to endorse performance-avoidance achievement goals. This performance-avoidance goal adoption in turn, accounted for the negative relationship between participants' gender and performance expectations for a standardized math test.     

The revised learning process questionnaire: A validation of a Western model of students' study approaches to the South Pacific context using confirmatory factor analysis

Background. Research evidence seems to suggest that the social and cultural environments influence students' approaches to their study. This social and cultural contention has led to the rethinking and reconceptualization of theories (e.g. Biggs, 1987 ; Marton & Säljö, 1976 ) pertaining to student approaches to learning (SAL) in academic settings. Aims. The present research discusses two separate empirical studies on student learning approaches situated in the South Pacific region with two respective cohorts of secondary students. Study I involved the examination of secondary Pacific Islands students in their learning approaches using a modified version of Biggs' (1987 ) original Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ). Study II involved the administration of a revised version of the LPQ (R‐LPQ‐2F; Kember, Biggs, & Leung, 2004 ) to another cohort of secondary Pacific Islands students. Sample. The first sample included 2,150 (1,285 girls, 865 boys) students and the second sample included 2,295 (1,363 girls, 932 boys) students. Methods. The factor structures of approaches to learning were examined by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the LISREL program. Different a priori models were hypothesized and tested. Results. Results of Study I indicated a two‐factor structure solution to Biggs' LPQ, supporting Richardson's (1994) theoretical model of learning and emphasized the factors of Reproducing and Meaning. Study II indicated a hierarchical organization of two main study approaches – deep and surface – that are structured as higher‐order factors and a defined by four first‐order factors. Conclusion. The results from the two studies accentuate the important argument for the rethinking and reconceptualization of learning approaches, as well as for the redevelopment and modification of learning inventories such as the LPQ. They also suggest the importance of situating the theoretical paradigm of learning approaches in a social and cultural environment.     

刻板印象威胁对学习困难中学生成就动机的影响

研究探讨学习困难中学生的刻板印象威胁及其对成就动机的影响。研究1采用实验法诱发学习困难中学生的刻板印象威胁,研究表明刻板印象威胁阻碍学习困难中学生心理旋转任务表现的提高。研究2在刻板印象威胁情境中,采用问卷法测量学习困难中学生的成就动机,刻板印象威胁组被试相比于对照组的成就动机水平较低,回避失败动机较高。研究3在刻板印象威胁诱发后加入自我肯定操纵,结果发现自我肯定组被试与对照组相比成就动机水平较高,回避失败动机水平较低。     

Causality Orientations, Failure, and Achievement

ABSTRACT Two studies examined similarities between Deci and Ryan's (1985) causality orientations theory and Dweck and Leggett's (1988) social-cognitive theory of achievement. Study 1 examined the conceptual similarity between the individual difference measures central to the two theories. It was shown that autonomous college students are likely to adopt learning goals and report high confidence in their academic abilities; controlled students are likely to adopt performance goals and to report high levels of confidence in their ability; and impersonal students are likely to possess the classic helpless pattern of performance goals and low confidence in their academic abilities. Study 2 examined whether causality orientations, like Dweck's measures of goals and confidence, moderate the impact of failure feedback on motivation as measured in persistence and performance. The results suggested that autonomous individuals respond to failure in a mastery-oriented fashion, whereas impersonal individuals respond in a helpless manner. The response of controlled individuals to failure parallels that of people described as ego-involved or reactive.     

Self-regulatory Behaviors and Approaches to Learning of Arts Students: A Comparison Between Professional Training and English Learning

This study investigated the self-regulatory behaviors of arts students, namely memory strategy, goal-setting, self-evaluation, seeking assistance, environmental structuring, learning responsibility, and planning and organizing. We also explored approaches to learning, including deep approach (DA) and surface approach (SA), in a comparison between students’ professional training and English learning. The participants consisted of 344 arts majors. The Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire and the Revised Learning Process Questionnaire were adopted to examine students’ self-regulatory behaviors and their approaches to learning. The results show that a positive and significant correlation was found in students’ self-regulatory behaviors between professional training and English learning. The results indicated that increases in using self-regulatory behaviors in professional training were associated with increases in applying self-regulatory behaviors in learning English. Seeking assistance, self-evaluation, and planning and organizing were significant predictors for learning English. In addition, arts students used the deep approach more often than the surface approach in both their professional training and English learning. A positive correlation was found in DA, whereas a negative correlation was shown in SA between students’ self-regulatory behaviors and their approaches to learning. Students with high self-regulation adopted a deep approach, and they applied the surface approach less in professional training and English learning. In addition, a SEM model confirmed that DA had a positive influence; however, SA had a negative influence on self-regulatory behaviors.     

Approaches to learning,need for cognition,and strategic flexibility among university students

Background: Considerable research has described students' deep and surface approaches to learning. Other research has described individuals' self‐regulated learning and need for cognition. There is a need for research examining the relationships among these constructs. Aims: This study explored relationships among approaches to learning (deep, surface), need for cognition, and three types of control of learning (adaptive, inflexible, irresolute). Theory suggested similarities among the deep approach, need for cognition, and adaptive control (aspects of self‐regulated learning); and among surface, inflexible, and irresolute control (aspects of an ineffective approach to learning). One‐factor and two‐factor models were proposed. Sample: Participants were 226 Canadian military college students. Method: Participants completed the following questionnaires: the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1978), the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982), and the Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire (Cantwell & Moore, 1996). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the identification of the six scale factors. Second order confirmatory factor analysis indicated three factors representing constructs underlying these factors. Conclusions: Neither the one‐ nor two‐factor models accounted adequately for the data. Self‐regulated learning was defined by measures of the deep approach to learning, need for cognition, and adaptive control of learning. The second factor divided into one factor consisting of irresolute control, the surface approach, and negative need for cognition; and another consisting of inflexible and negative adaptive control. Substantial relationships among scales support the need for further theory development.     

Assessing the Learning Processes of Black South African Students

Data based on responses of 126 male and 201 female 14- and 15-year-old Black South African secondary school students showed the Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ; Biggs, 1987) to be fairly reliable and factorially valid. Comparison with the LPQ means for like-aged students from Australia and Hong Kong called into question the common assertion that Black South African students are more prone to use superficial learning processes than are Western students. In particular, the South African responses to the LPQ indicated that they were less shallow and more oriented toward achievement in their approach to learning than the Australian students were.     

The adaptation and validation of the CEQ and the R-SPQ-2F to the Japanese tertiary environment

Background. Student learning theory (SLT) has established associations between students’ approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment. SLT may provide a useful framework for researching student learning within the Japanese tertiary sector. Aims. The study aims to explore and validate the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) in the Japanese four-year tertiary context. Sample. Mixed-major students from one Japanese four-year tertiary institution voluntarily completed the CEQ (n= 370). A separate group of students completed the CEQ and R-SPQ-2F (n= 269). Methods. CEQ data from the first sample were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). CEQ and R-SPQ-2F data from the second sample were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results. EFA of the CEQ resulted in four factors: Good Teaching (GT), Generic Skills (GS), Appropriate Workload (AW), and Appropriate Assessment (AA). CFA confirmed these factors with the second sample. CFA of the R-SPQ-2F resulted in an item parcel-based, two-factor model. Correlations between some CEQ and R-SPQ-2F constructs were consistent with previous results. However, other findings from this research suggest that SLT constructs may be constituted differently in the Japanese context. Conclusions. This study represents an initial investigation of key SLT constructs in the Japanese context. Results suggest some SLT constructs are meaningful in this context, but further scale development may be desirable before more advanced modeling is employed.     

Do thinking styles contribute to academic achievement beyond self-rated abilities?

This research identifies individual differences in academic achievement attributable to thinking styles over and above what can be explained by self-rated abilities. Participants were 209 university students from Hong Kong and 215 university students from mainland China. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (Chinese version) that is based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government (R. J. Sternberg, 1988). They also rated their own analytical, creative, and practical abilities on a 10-point scale based on R. J. Sternberg's (1985) triarchic theory of human intelligence. Participants' academic achievement scores were also used. The prediction that thinking styles statistically predict academic achievement was supported by data from both Hong Kong and mainland China. Academic achievement and thinking styles are related differently in the two groups. Implications of these findings for both teaching and research are discussed.     

Validation of a Chinese achievement goal orientation questionnaire

Background . The mixed findings of previous studies on the nature and effects of performance goals have led to a call for re‐examination of the dichotomous framework of achievement goal orientation theory. While the call for a revised achievement goal orientation theory has received considerable discussion in Western studies, it is not clear whether the revised theory can also be applied in other ethnic and cultural contexts. Aims . Our aim was to validate the Chinese version of Elliot and Church's (1007) Goal Orientation Questionnaire and to initially test the revised goal orientation theory in the context of Chinese students in Hong Kong. Sample . A total of 270 Chinese students (137 boys and 133 girls) from a primary and secondary school in Hong Kong participated in Study 1. Study 2 involved a total of 9,440 students (5,420 boys and 4,020 girls) from 10 primary and 18 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Method . Participants in Study 1 completed a Chinese Goal Orientation Questionnaire (CGOQ) measuring three types of goal orientation. Exploratory factor analysis, item–total correlation, and reliability analyses were undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the CGOQ. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was used to provide further validation for the revised questionnaire. The relationships among different goal orientations and that with students' perceived classroom environment and self‐efficacy were also explored using structural equation modelling. Results . Findings of exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 supported the proposed factor structure of the CGOQ. All the subscales in the questionnaire also showed good internal consistency reliabilities. The construct validity of the CGOQ was supported by its significant relationship with criterion measures. While most of the relationships between the three types of goal orientation and the learning‐related variables measured in our study were consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were different from previous studies. Conclusion . Our findings generally supported the trichotomous framework of the revised goal orientation theory with Chinese students in Hong Kong. Consistent with the revised goal orientation theory, our findings indicated that both mastery and performance‐approach goals had positive impacts on students' learning. However, the positive relationships between performance‐avoidance goals, mastery goals, and perceived classroom environment were contradictory to the conceptualization of performance‐avoidance goals in the revised theory. Cultural and social factors affecting Hong Kong students' goal orientations are discussed.     

高职学生学习策略特点的初步研究

学习策略是指:帮助学习者理解新知识的心理加工过程。高职生在学习策略方面存在一定的问题。本研究在高职学生学习动机特点初步研究的基础上,对高职学生学习策略的总体特点做了进一步的研究。本研究采用Biggs(1987)编制的学习过程问卷作为测量工具,分析结果表明:学习策略在年级、系部、性别、学校上均存在显著差异,进一步佐证了高职学生学习动机特点的研究结果。动机与策略存在一致性,学习策略的特点可以看成是学习动机程度的外部表现。