Unravelling the influence of cognitive style on Chinese students’ classroom behaviours: the mediating effects of the structure-oriented/depth-oriented learning approach

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate how cognitive style affects Chinese students’ learning behaviours in the classroom. A concept labelled as the structure-oriented vs. depth-oriented learning approach was constructed, and its mediating effects in the link between cognitive style and learning behaviour were proposed and examined in this study. Three measures assessing cognitive style, learning approach and learning behaviour in the classroom were administered to 332 undergraduates recruited from two large public universities in China. The results of data analyses revealed that Chinese students tended to be more holistic in cognitive style, and holistic style significantly predicted learning behaviour. It was also found that the structure-oriented learning approach significantly mediated the association between holistic style and learning behaviour. The findings were, in general, supportive of the major assumption of this study that cognitive style plays a role in explaining the behavioural traits presented by Chinese students in the classroom.

Keywords:

• cognitive style
• learning approach
• classroom behaviour
• Chinese learner

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Project 11YJC880012 from the Ministry of Education of China, and the Project QJC1202003 from the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Zhejiang Province.