APPROACHES TO LEARNING IN A HIGH-SCHOOL SETTING: FACTOR STRUCTURE AND INFLUENCE OF INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
Desislava Plamenova Petrova
Pages: 183-193
Published: 13 Oct 2019
Views: 1,039
Downloads: 95
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the results of a psychological study of students` approaches to learning in Bulgarian high-school setting. A total of 335 secondary students (157 males, 166 females), aged 14 – 18 years, were administered the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Duff 1997), adapted for Bulgarian conditions by Y. Yankulova (Yankulova 2014). Factor analysis identified three factors explaining 41.4% of the total variance (KMO = .830, Bartlett's Test p = .000 < .05). At the first factor, deep approach, differences were found according to gender (t(323) = -2.965, p = .003 < .05), academic performance (F(302) = 6.285, p = .000 < .05), and extracurricular non-sporting activities (t(286) = -3.222, p = .001< .05). At the second factor, surface approach, differences were established in terms of gender (t(323) = -5.192, p = .000 < 0.05) and school grade (F(335) = 2.856, p = .037 < .05). And at the third factor, strategic approach, differences were observed according to gender (t(323) = -2.887, p = .004 < .05), school grade (F(335) = 3.286, p = .021 < .05), academic performance (F(302) = 10.838, p = .000 < .05), and extracurricular non-sporting activities (t(286) = -1.895, p = .059 > .05). The analysis and the conclusions derived from it can serve as a basis for further psychological research in the field, as well as for enhancing the quality of learning in secondary education.
Keywords: approaches to learning, approaches to studying, adolescents, secondary education, high-school setting, factor structure, individual differences, indep
Cite this article: Desislava Plamenova Petrova. APPROACHES TO LEARNING IN A HIGH-SCHOOL SETTING: FACTOR STRUCTURE AND INFLUENCE OF INDEPENDENT VARIABLES. Journal of International Scientific Publications: Educational Alternatives 17, 183-193 (2019). https://www.scientific-publications.net/en/article/1001984/
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