Abstract:
Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research was to study the learning styles of Chulalongkorn University students and to compare the learning styles of the students by sex, different levels of academic achievement class level, field of study and finally to study correlations between the various learning styles. Hypotheses of the study: 1. Students with different levels of academic achievement have different learning styles. 2. Students at different class levels have different learning styles. 3. Students studying in different fields of study have different learning styles. Methodology and Procedures. This inquiry used the survey approach. 750 subjects were selected by [stratified] random sampling from the Chulalongkorn University students in four fields of study, i.e. Pure Science, Applied Sciences, Social Science and Humanities. 677 (90.26 percent) questionnaires were completed and returned, rating scale was developed using the Student Learning Styles Questionnaire of Grasha and Reichman. This scale includes six learning styles: Independent, Avoidance, Collaborative, Dependent Competitive and Participant. The reliability of the questionnaire adapted for this study was .785. Data were analyzed by computing percentages, arithmetic means, standard deviation, maximum minimum, t-test, F-test, Scheffes test for multiple Comparison and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients. Research Findings. 1. The four learning styles of the Chulalongkorn University students in general were Collaborative, Participant, Dependent and Independent. Collaborative rated at a high level, Participant, Dependent and Independent rated at a medium level. The students disliked two learning styles; Avoidance and Competitive. 2. There were significant differences among male and female students for the three following learning styles: Independent, Department and Participant. Male students ranked higher on Independent, significant at the .01 level. Female students ranked higher on Dependent, significant at the .05 level and higher on Participant, significant at the .01 level. 3. High academic achievement students and low academic achievement students showed differences on two learning styles; Collaborative and Participant. High academic achievement students ranked higher on Collaborative, significant at the .05 level and higher on Participant, significant at the .01 level. 4. Students who were at different class levels ranked differently on Dependent, significant at the .05 level. Freshmen ranked higher on Dependent and seniors ranked lower on Dependent. 5. Students who studied in different fields of study showed different learning styles; there were differences on Dependent and Participant, significant at the .01 level and on Dependent, significant at the .05 level. 6. Most learning styles showed positive correlations but at a low level, except for Participant and Collaborative which Correlated at a medium level. Avoidance and Collaborative, Avoidance and Participant Correlated negatively. Recommendations. On the basis of this results the researcher recommends that the process of teaching and learning should emphasize the use of collaborative approaches in activities and group work more than individual approaches, giving the opportunity to the students to participate in class. As for the Freshmen, special efforts should be made to enable them to develop their potential as fully as possible.