Hong Kong students' approaches to learning and attitudes toward learning environments

Research into student learning have shifted in recent years to focus on the learner himself/herself, with emphasis on his/her perceptions of the learning environment, learning approach, and learning outcomes which are interrelated. However, no study has attempted to identify the difference in perception of learning environment of students’ preferences with different learning approaches. In this study, data on Hong Kong students’ approaches to study and their attitudes to learning environments was collected pre-and post-the clinical training of two previously validated tools, the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987c) and Moore and Fitch Inventory of Learning Preferences (cited in Woods, 1994). The Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) was used to assess students’ approaches to learning in which students were asked to rate on a five-point scale on items addressing factors such as surface, deep, and achieving motives and strategies. In the Inventory of Learning Preferences (ILP), students were asked to select ten items that best reflect their ideal learning environment. A comparison of pre-and-post test scores on students’ attitudes learning environments was very encouraging. The students clearly indicated a shift in attitudes to one desirous of independent learning, less teaching by professors, and more relevant assessment of learning, where students showed a marked shift towards a learning that “would be where the professor does not tell me the answers, rather he/she shows me how to find answers for myself”. From this study it was concluded that different students perceive a learning differently, based on their learning preferences and styles and therefore understanding the learning behaviour may provide insights into student’s learning across cultures and into individual students’ learning needs. Keywords: Chinese Learner, Approaches to Learning, Attitudes to Learning Environments, Teaching-learning Assessment