An assessment of the relationship between teacher teaching style and student learning style with relation to academic achievement and absenteeism of seniors in a rural high school in north central Massachusetts

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between attendance and academic achievement of grade twelve students and compatibility of teacher and student learning style. The study also investigated the ability of senior English teachers to predict the learning styles of the students assigned to them. Other areas of study included: (1) the relationship between the length of acquaintance of the teacher with the student and his/her ability to predict the student\u27s learning style; (2) the relationship between sex of the student and achievement; and (3) the predominance of students favoring English (including grammar, literature and composition) class and the compatibility of teacher/student learning styles. Ninety-nine (99) grade twelve students and four (4) senior English teachers participated in the study. Each subject completed the Gregorc Style Delineator. The results indicated that: (1) a significant relationship existed between those students whose learning style matched the teaching style of their English teachers and the degree to which the students enjoyed English; (2) there was a significant relationship between the learning/teaching style of students/teachers and the students\u27 attendance patterns; (3) the correlation between the sex of the student and his/her academic achievement was significant; (4) teachers in the study predicted the individual learning styles with low accuracy; (5) a significant relationship existed when comparing the learning styles of students who were compatible with the teaching styles of their English teachers and English achievement; and (6) the relationship between the length of acquaintance of the teacher with the student and his/her ability to predict learning styles was not significant. All questions examined in the study were analyzed at a significance of 0.05. It was concluded that the matching of teacher and student learning styles did significantly improve attendance and academic achievement. Teachers were able to identify the learning styles of their students. The sex of the student had an effect on academic achievement. Students who liked English class had a compatible learning style with their teachers. Length of acquaintance had little effect on a teachers\u27 ability to predict student learning style