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A comparative study about learning styles preferences of two cultures

Kutay, Huban
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1143049622

Abstract Details

2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Teaching and Learning.
From an anthropologist’s (Maddock, 1981) point of view, “science and science education are cultural enterprises which form a part of the wider cultural matrix of society and educational considerations concerning science must be made in the light of this wider perspective”(p.10). In addition, Spindler (1987) states that teaching science is considered cultural transmission while, Wolcott (1991) focuses on learning science as culture acquisition. In these statements, culture is defined as “an ordered system of meaning and symbols, in terms of which social interaction takes place” (Geertz, 1973). Thus, learning and culture are a partnership.The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between students’ learning styles and their culture. Does culture limit or expand the learning of individuals? For this study Turkish students who pursue undergraduate or graduate education in the United States were identified and compared to American college students through learning styles data and anxiety levels as cultural markers. To identify individuals’ learning styles we used the Building Excellence (BE) instrument (Dunn & Rundle, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000). BE assesses twenty four elements covering each person’s perceptual, psychological, environmental, physiological, emotional, and sociological processing preferences and analyzes the learning conditions for students’ individual preferences in these six areas. A two-sample t test and regression analysis were used to identify the differences between Turkish and American students by means of their learning style preferences and social anxiety levels. The sample consisted of 67 % males and 33 % female. The age of the subjects was relatively young as we expected; 51 % of them 25 years old and under and 46 % of them were between the ages of 26 and 35. In terms of academic major areas 38 % of the students were from the basic science areas and the second most prevalent major category was engineering with 35 % of the subject. Out of a total of twenty-four elements, eight were identified as being different in these groups. These differences were mostly in the physiological and environmental stimulus that can be explained as cultural habits or practices.
BARBARA THOMSON (Advisor)
128 p.
Education, Sciences
turkish and U.S. learning comparison; learning styles; culture; social anxiety; education

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kutay, H. (2006). A comparative study about learning styles preferences of two cultures [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1143049622

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kutay, Huban. A comparative study about learning styles preferences of two cultures. 2006. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1143049622.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kutay, Huban. "A comparative study about learning styles preferences of two cultures." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1143049622

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1143049622
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© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.
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