Abstract

CANALEJAS PEREZ, Mª del Coro et al. Learning styles in nursing students. Educ. méd. [online]. 2005, vol.8, n.2, pp.33-40. ISSN 1575-1813.

Introduction: This paper aims to identify the prevalent learning style among nursing students at our teaching institution, as a starting point for an analysis of the current learning-teaching process. Methods and materials: An observational, exploratory and cross-sectional study was performed in the Nursing School of La Paz (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), during the academic year 2002-2003, in a samplecomprising 180 students. The variables selected were: learning style, academic year, form of access to nursing studies and previous work experience. The instrument used was the Honey-Alonso (CHAEA) learning style questionnaire. Data analysis was based on the contrasting of the differences between the scores in the four learning styles, through the ANOVA test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the reflexive and theoretic learning styles, and no significant differences were found for the active and pragmatic learning styles, according to the students’ academic year. Discussion: Learning styles in our teaching institution evolve as students progress through their studies. There is an increasing tendency towards the reflexive and theoretic styles at upper levels. Alternatives should be explored in order to develop the active and pragmatic learning styles.

Keywords : Learning styles; nursing students; CHAEA questionnaire; nursing teaching.

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