Learning style preferences of chiropractic students at a university of technology and their effect on academic performance

Abstract

Background South Africa’s higher education institutions have been described as systems of low participation and high attrition (Cloete 2014:1358). Despite the government’s investments into its education sector, graduation rates, especially those at the undergraduate level, remain very low. A diversified student body makes up the tertiary education institutions. These students vary in age, gender, race and socioeconomic backgrounds, which have fuelled the need to investigate strategies to improve the learning experience so students may achieve their full potential. There is a paucity of research specific to learning style preferences and chiropractic education with many of those studies done not being applicable to a university of technology in South Africa. Aim The aim of the study was to determine the learning style preferences of registered chiropractic students at the Durban University of Technology, In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and to determine the relationship of these preferences to their demographics and academic performance. Research methodology Using a quantitative research approach, 142 chiropractic students registered in years one to five of the chiropractic programme in 2019 were asked to complete a cross-sectional survey comprised of basic demographical information and a Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinaesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. The research tool was administered through QuestionPro, and later hard copies of the questionnaire were offered if the respondents were unable to initially complete the online questionnaire. Results and discussion There were 101 chiropractic students who participated in this study resulting in a 76.5% response rate. The majority of the students were found to be unimodal learners (61.4%) and the most selected unimodal preference was the kinaesthetic mode (36.6%). No significant difference in the distribution of learning style preferences were found by year of study, gender or age (p=0.893, p=0.228 and p=0.153, respectively), although a slight trend was observed, where read/write learning was the more popular preference amongst the youngest and visual learning was preferred amongst the oldest students. This research study also found there to be no significant relationship between learning style preferences and academic performance in theory and practical examinations (p=0.161 and p=0.083, respectively). Conclusion and recommendations Although many of the chiropractic students were found to have unimodal preferences, this study highlighted the diversity of learning style preferences amongst the students. No specific learning styles were found to predict a better examination outcome but allowing students to explore their learning preferences and utilize techniques that are best suited to them may enhance their education. Future studies should examine the learning style preferences of the chiropractic lecturers and clinicians, and compare these with the preferences of the students, who typically adapt their learning preferences to suit their learning environment (Almigbal 2015:349).