Learning styles preferences and diagnostics at higher education level: A comparative perspective among three faculties

This study aimed at exploring and comparing learning styles preferences among students of Management sciences, Social sciences and Languages. Homogenous purposive sampling technique was used to select sample of study comprising of 300 graduating students of the three faculties. Grasha-Reichmann Scale consisting of 60 five point likert scale statements was used to explore learning styles preferences of students on six variables namely; avoidant, collaborative, competitive, dependent, independent, and participant. Results based on One-way ANOVA and Post-hoc Tukey’s test revealed that a statistically significant difference occurred among the learning styles preferences of students enrolled in three faculties. Management sciences students preferred competitive and independent learning style, social sciences students were mostly avoidant and dependent learners whereas languages students have adopted collaborative as well as dependent learning styles. It is recommended that teachers may require to bring variation in teaching learning process to cater to the needs of diverse learners. It is advisable for teachers to plan such learning activities which make them independent and self-directed learners. It is also recommended that situational factors such as nature of course requirements and motivation to attend the classroom could also have an impact on the preferred learning styles.