An Investigation into Entwistlean Adult Learning Styles in Mature Students

Abstract

The learning approaches of 58 nurse tutors, primary teachers, secondary teachers and FE lecturers were investigated using Entwistle's Likert‐style questionnaire. All were studying for a part‐time degree. Female primary teachers were found to have a greater need of guidance by the tutor; the other occupational groups were more independent in their study methods. When examined formally, a majority of all the categories adopted a strategic approach but, when not under this constraint, used a deep approach with plenty of lateral thinking. On average, the females preferred to tackle the details first, rather than the overall picture; whereas the males were evenly divided. The males were on average not significantly more competitive than the females.