A Study of Learning Approaches and their Relationship with Demographic Characteristics of Postgraduate Students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences Iran in 2014

Abstract

Background & Objective: An important individual difference among students is their learning approaches Learning approaches are styles through which the learner selects information and integrates them Identifying students learning approaches and educational planning result in the attainment of educational achievements by students The aim of this study was to evaluate learning approaches and determine their relationship with demographic characteristics of postgraduate students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences Iran Methods: This was a descriptive analytical correlational study on 400 postgraduate students selected through random sampling The data collection tool consisted of a questionnaire with two sections of demographic characteristics and learning approaches Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency mean and standard deviation) and ANOVA and chisquare tests in SPSS software Results: The frequencies of deep surface and surfacedeep approaches among the students were 705% 235% and 60% Moreover among demographic characteristic the students occupation had a significant relationship with their approaches to learning (P = 0032) There was no relationship between learning approaches and other demographic characteristics of students Conclusion: This study showed that the majority of postgraduate students in Kerman University of Medical Sciences preferred the deep learning approach This learning approach had a significant relationship with their occupation It frequency was higher in unemployed people These findings are useful for the university and professors

Keywords

• learning approaches
• demographic characteristics
• graduate students