ANALYSIS OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT LEARNING STYLES IN CANADA, MEXICO, AND THE UNITED STATES.

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if there are any significant differences among learning style profiles of selected secondary school students from three language groups in three nations: French-speaking Canada, Spanish-speaking Mexico, and English-speaking United States. An approach to the analysis of learning style was developed, based on three instruments: The Group Embedded Figures Test, a measure of cognitive style; The Internal-External I-E Scale, a measure of locus of control; and The Sherman-Kulhavy Laterality Assessment Inventory, a measure of cerebral dominance. The mean scores on these instruments formed a three figure numerical descriptor constituting a learning style profile for each group. To determine if certain demographic characteristics were significantly related to any of the three categories of learning style, a questionnaire was developed. The instruments were translated into French and Spanish, and administered to subjects in Quebec (City), Quebec, Canada; Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; and Tucson, Arizona, USA. It was hypothesized that the three groups did not differ significantly in any of the categories of learning style. The hypothesis was tested by three separate one-way analyses of variance applied to the mean scores for the three groups in each of the learning style categories. Correlation studies were done to determine if any demographic characteristics identified by the questionnaire were significantly related to the categories of learning style within and/or across the three groups. Tests were conducted to determine if there were any significant correlations among the categories of learning style. Important findings of the study were: (1) Subjects from Mexico differed significantly from those of Canada and the United States in the cognitive style category of learning style. (2) Age was significantly correlated with locus of control in subjects from Canada and the United States. This was not found with subjects from Mexico. (3) There was a significant correlation between cognitive style and locus of control in subjects from Canada and the United States. None was found in subjects from Mexico. Subjects from Canada and the United States exhibited strikingly similar learning style profiles.