learning-styles

LSRC reference Section 7
page 98/99
Validity
In contrast to claims by Entwistle and his colleagues
about the validity of the ASI, there is less agreement
in external evaluations. For example, in a review
of seven external studies and two by Entwistle and
Ramsden, Richardson found problems with construct
validity for many of the 16 sub-scales and individual
items of the ASI generally. He argued that the ASI
provided a convenient way of characterising students’
approaches to learning within different contexts, but an
ongoing problem for researchers had been to retrieve
the original constituent structure of the ASI. Although
factor analyses in both internal and external studies
of the ASI have retrieved the basic distinction between
meaning and reproducing orientations, ‘dimensions
concerning achieving orientation and styles and
pathologies have been much less readily identifiable’
(Richardson 1992, 41). He concluded (1997) that
meaning and reproducing orientations constitute a valid
typology of approaches to studying and that there is
evidence of gender and age differences in orientations.
Problems with construct validity in the ASI are
confirmed by Sadler-Smith (1999a), while other
studies question the construct validity of some items
for students of other cultures (see Meyer and Parsons
1989; Kember and Gow 1990). Kember and Gow
argue that the test needs to be more culturally specific
in terms of construct validity. There has also been
disagreement about whether it offers predictive validity
in correlating orientations and final assessment among
18–21-year-old undergraduates (Richardson 1992).
However, Entwistle argues that the inventories were
developed to describe different approaches to studying,
not to predict achievement as such. In addition, the
absence of standardised assessment criteria in
higher education makes predictive validity difficult
to demonstrate (Entwistle 2002).
In response to problems with construct and predictive
validity, Fogarty and Taylor (1997) tested the ASI
with 503 mature, ‘non-traditional’ (ie without entry
qualifications) entrants to Australian universities.
Their study confirmed problems with internal
consistency reliability for seven of the sub-scales,
with alpha coefficients in the range 0.31 to 0.60.
In a similar vein to other studies that advocate a focus
on broad orientations, the authors argued (1997, 328)
that it ‘may be better to concentrate on the meaning
and reproducing orientations rather than on the various
minor scales’. In terms of predictive validity, they
found a negligible correlation between reproduction
orientation and poor academic performance among
their sample, but also a lack of correlation between
a deep approach and good performance. This led them
to argue that students unfamiliar with study may have
appropriate orientations, but lack appropriate study
skills to operationalise them.
Another study (Kember and Gow 1990) explored
relationships between, on the one hand, performance
and persistence; and on the other, approaches
and orientation as measured by the ASI. In a study
of 779 students divided between internal and external
courses, discriminant analysis evaluated which
of the sub-scales could distinguish between those
who persist and those who do not. For both internal
and external students, the surface approach was the
variable that discriminated between non-persisters
and persisters [discriminant coefficients of 0.71
(internal students) and 0.94 (external students)].
The other variable was fear of failure. Persistence was
therefore partly related to fear of failure, while a surface
approach was more likely to lead to dropping out.
In a study of 573 Norwegian undergraduates following
an introductory course in the history of philosophy,
logic and philosophy of science, Diseth (2001)
evaluated the factor structure of the ASSIST. His study
found evidence of the deep and surface approaches,
but was less positive for items about course perception
and assessment demands. In another test with
89 Norwegian psychology students, he found no links
between general intelligence measures and approaches
to learning. However, he noted (Diseth 2002) that
straightforward correlations between achievement
and the approaches that students adopt are not
sufficient to predict success in assessment: instead,
a surface approach had a statistically significant
curvilinear link to examination grade: the highest level
of achievement related to a low or moderate surface
approach. The more that students used a surface
approach, the more their achievement declined.
A strategic approach is also associated with high
achievement, suggesting a need to differentiate
between deep and surface approaches to learning
and a strategic approach to studying (Entwistle and
McCune 2003). This also suggests the need for
lecturers, and students themselves, to be realistic
about the importance of strategic approaches
in students’ responses to teaching and curriculum
and assessment design. For example, the pressures
of ‘credential inflation’ for achieving ever higher grades
and levels of qualification are likely to encourage
strategic approaches.
There has recently been a large upsurge of interest
in describing and measuring the study strategies
of students in higher education. This interest arises
from both political and pedagogical goals: for example,
policy decisions such as the training and certification
of teachers in universities demand empirical evidence
about appropriate pedagogy (see Entwistle and McCune
2003). In addition, current proposals to use student
evaluations of their courses as the basis for league
tables of universities derive heavily from the Course
Perceptions Questionnaire developed for quite different
purposes in the 1980s.