The government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia proclaimed a new curriculum for reconstructing the education system. The programme aimed at changing the predominantly-used teacher-centred instructional strategies to student-centred, active learning methods. This motivated the main research question of this study namely What are Ethiopian students’ learning styles and attitudes towards active learning approaches? The specific research questions that were investigated were: • What are the learning styles of students in Grade 10 public and private schools and at second year university level, and do these students prefer certain learning styles? • What are the attitudes of students at Grade 10 public and private schools, and at second year university level in respect of active learning approaches? • Do significant relationships exist between the students’ learning styles and their attitudes towards active learning as regards the four dimensions of the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), namely active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, visual-reflective and sequential-global? • Are there significant differences in the students’ learning styles and their attitudes towards active learning in respect of gender, different education levels and types of schools? In order to answer these questions, the study made use of an exploratory, descriptive design. By means of questionnaires data were collected from a purposefully and a conveniently selected sample of 920 students from Grade 10 government and private schools and second year university students in Hawassa, Ethiopia. The sample comprised of 506 males and 414 females, 400 students from Government schools and 249 from private schools, and 271 from the university. The data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics (means and correlations) and inferential statistics (analysis of variance). The results indicated that the majority of the students’ learning styles were balanced between the two dimensions of the ILS scales. As secondary preference, they tended towards moderate categories, and a small section of the students preferred the strong categories of the scales. Secondly, the study determined that the sampled students in general, demonstrated a positive attitude towards active learning. Thirdly, by means of the study a significant relationship was ascertained between the students’ attitudes towards active learning and the active-reflective dimension of the ILS. Fourthly, significant differences were indicated in the students’ learning styles and attitudes towards active learning in respect of their gender, their education level and the types of schools. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia proclaimed a new curriculum for reconstructing the education system. The programme aimed at changing the predominantly-used teacher-centred instructional strategies to student-centred, active learning methods. This motivated the main research question of this study namely What are Ethiopian students’ learning styles and attitudes towards active learning approaches? The specific research questions that were investigated were: • What are the learning styles of students in Grade 10 public and private schools and at second year university level, and do these students prefer certain learning styles? • What are the attitudes of students at Grade 10 public and private schools, and at second year university level in respect of active learning approaches? • Do significant relationships exist between the students’ learning styles and their attitudes towards active learning as regards the four dimensions of the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), namely active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, visual-reflective and sequential-global? • Are there significant differences in the students’ learning styles and their attitudes towards active learning in respect of gender, different education levels and types of schools? In order to answer these questions, the study made use of an exploratory, descriptive design. By means of questionnaires data were collected from a purposefully and a conveniently selected sample of 920 students from Grade 10 government and private schools and second year university students in Hawassa, Ethiopia. The sample comprised of 506 males and 414 females, 400 students from Government schools and 249 from private schools, and 271 from the university. The data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics (means and correlations) and inferential statistics (analysis of variance). The results indicated that the majority of the students’ learning styles were balanced between the two dimensions of the ILS scales. As secondary preference, they tended towards moderate categories, and a small section of the students preferred the strong categories of the scales. Secondly, the study determined that the sampled students in general, demonstrated a positive attitude towards active learning. Thirdly, by means of the study a significant relationship was ascertained between the students’ attitudes towards active learning and the active-reflective dimension of the ILS. Fourthly, significant differences were indicated in the students’ learning styles and attitudes towards active learning in respect of their gender, their education level and the types of schools. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The main objective of the study was to explain how learning styles and instructional material influence students’ academic performance in some fundamental chemical concepts, and to integrate a specific learning styles model into the literatures of chemistry education and suggest how to apply it in the teaching-learning process of chemistry. To achieve the intended objective, a sequential explanatory mixed method design was applied. Out of 1676 science students in two preparatory schools, 326 participants were selected using a disproportionate random sampling and a sequential mixed method with a nested sampling strategy. Data were collected through Learning Styles Index, Chemistry test, and Semi-structured and open-ended questionnaire. The quantitative part of the data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including an independent sample t-test and multiple regression analysis. The qualitative part of the data was analysed using a framework analysis approach. This approach involves thematic analysis followed by comparisons both within and between themes, and between cases. The quantitative phase of the study found that the contributions of learning styles to academic performance in some fundamental chemical concepts have not statistically significant contribution. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was not any superior learning style that lead students to success in the fundamental chemical concepts considered in this study. The qualitative part of the study showed that the majority of students preferred the same nature of chemistry instructional materials. It also showed that nature of chemistry instructional materials used in the schools were different which can accommodate students’ with different learning styles. Based on the findings it is recommended that instructional designers and teachers take into consideration the representational nature of chemical concepts and then students learning styles when making instructional decisions. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Chemistry Education))

The main objective of the study was to explain how learning styles and instructional material influence students’ academic performance in some fundamental chemical concepts, and to integrate a specific learning styles model into the literatures of chemistry education and suggest how to apply it in the teaching-learning process of chemistry. To achieve the intended objective, a sequential explanatory mixed method design was applied. Out of 1676 science students in two preparatory schools, 326 participants were selected using a disproportionate random sampling and a sequential mixed method with a nested sampling strategy. Data were collected through Learning Styles Index, Chemistry test, and Semi-structured and open-ended questionnaire. The quantitative part of the data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including an independent sample t-test and multiple regression analysis. The qualitative part of the data was analysed using a framework analysis approach. This approach involves thematic analysis followed by comparisons both within and between themes, and between cases. The quantitative phase of the study found that the contributions of learning styles to academic performance in some fundamental chemical concepts have not statistically significant contribution. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was not any superior learning style that lead students to success in the fundamental chemical concepts considered in this study. The qualitative part of the study showed that the majority of students preferred the same nature of chemistry instructional materials. It also showed that nature of chemistry instructional materials used in the schools were different which can accommodate students’ with different learning styles. Based on the findings it is recommended that instructional designers and teachers take into consideration the representational nature of chemical concepts and then students learning styles when making instructional decisions. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Chemistry Education))