This research aimed to investigate whether or not intellectual styles are value-laden and if they are malleable. This aim was achieved through understanding the types of intellectual styles that teachers and students prefer each other to use in the teaching-learning process. It was further achieved by examining whether or not teaching styles affect students’ learning styles and their career interests. This research employed a mixture of experimental and longitudinal designs as well as a combination of quantitative and qualitative procedures. It was composed of one pilot study and three main studies. The pilot study was intended to evaluate the two inventories (the Preferred Thinking Styles in Learning Inventory, PTSLI, and the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory, PTSTI) used in the first study. The purpose of Study One was to identify teachers’ preferences for students’ learning styles and students’ preferences for teachers’ teaching styles. A total of 226 teachers and 268 students participated in Study One. A series of data analyses revealed that the PTSLI and the PTSTI were applicable to Chinese secondary school teachers and students. The pilot study and Study One consistently revealed that teachers and students preferred each other to use Type I styles in learning and teaching, respectively. These findings also indicated that styles are value-laden. Study Two was an experimental study to examine the impact of teaching styles on students’ learning styles and on their career interests. A total of seven teachers and 464 students participated in the control group, whereas the experimental group was composed of six teachers and 219 students. Classroom instruction was implemented in each participating teacher’s school for one semester (6 months). A pre-test and post-test were conducted before and after the classroom instruction. Students’ learning styles were measured by the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II in both tests. At the time of post-test, students also completed the Self-Directed Search that assessed their career interests. In a series of repeated-measures MANOVA, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and paired t-tests conducted in Study Two, changes in students’ learning styles in both the control and the experimental groups were identified. Students in the experimental group demonstrated a trend towards Type I learning styles, whereas students in the control group increased their use of Type II learning styles after the instruction period. Furthermore, teachers’ teaching styles had a direct impact on students’ development of particular types of career interests. Students in the experimental group developed a wider range of career interests than students in the control group. Study Three was a qualitative study conducted among 16 students to explore how and why their learning styles underwent changes. Findings from Studies Two and Three supported the contention that styles are malleable. Results demonstrated that students in the control group showed more features of using Type II learning styles, whereas students in the experimental group gradually increased their use of Type I learning styles after the instruction period. Contributions and implications of the findings are discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

There are three controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles: whether or not certain relationships exist among different style constructs (style overlap); whether or not styles are value-laden; and whether or not styles could change. The present research mainly aimed at further addressing these three controversial issues respectively by: 1) exploring the relationships between two style constructs (field dependent-independent styles and thinking styles); 2) investigating the influence of intellectual styles on quality of university life and university self-efficacy; and 3) examining how personal factors (ability and conceptions of learning) and university experiences impacted intellectual styles among university students with and without hearing impairment from art and design academic disciplines. The present research adopted quantitatively-driven mixed methods, including a pilot study, a main study with a test at Time 1 and a test at Time 2with the duration of one academic-year, and a qualitative study. The pilot study validated all the inventories among 213 students with hearing impairment and 274 students without hearing impairment. The main study examined the interrelationships among the six main research variables and how personal factors impacted intellectual styles among 256students with hearing impairment and 286students without hearing impairment. Based on results of the main study, 36 participants (16 with hearing impairment and 20 without hearing impairment) were selected for the follow-up semi-structured interviews which explored how university experiences influenced intellectual styles, partially verified quantitative findings regarding style changes, and explained some unexpected results in the main study. Results of the main study generally supported the research hypotheses. To be specific, for all the participants, results of the present research showed that: 1) thinking styles overlapped field dependent-independent styles; 2) Type II intellectual styles tended to be positively related to quality of university life in the first academic year, while Type I intellectual styles tended to be positively related to quality of university life in the second academic year; and 3) students with Type I intellectual styles tended to have higher levels of university self-efficacy, while those with Type II intellectual styles tended to have lower levels of university self-efficacy. These findings suggested that intellectual styles overlap with each other, and that intellectual styles are value-laden. It was also identified that, after studying art and design courses for one academic year, students without hearing impairment tended to score higher on Type I intellectual styles and lower on Type II intellectual styles, while students with hearing impairment tended to score higher on both Type I and Type II intellectual styles. For all the participants, both personal factors (ability and conceptions of learning) and university experiences significantly influenced their intellectual styles. These results indicated that intellectual styles are malleable. Apart from these, intellectual styles were found to mediate the relationships between personal factors and student developmental outcomes among all the participants. Discussions focus on contributions of the research findings to the styles literature and on the implications of the findings for higher education of student with and without hearing impairment. Recommendations for future studies are also made. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Architecture / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

This study is concerned with patterns of information search and utilisation, and the effect these have on the areas of academic interest and the level of achievement within these areas as a result a fit between the individual and his environment. In particular, the study deals with the scholar's level of cognitive complexity as described by Harvey, Hunt and Schroder (1961) and the effect such complexity level has upon subject preference in the final school year and whether this in turn effects the level of competence and achievement of the pupil. It will be argued that individual differences in cognitive style or information processing strategies act as moderator variables, resulting in a preference for and relative success in some rather than other domains of intellectual activity. A distinction is drawn between styles that encourage the consideration of a fairly wide range of variables, and those that favour a more restricted range in any given situation. Furthermore, it is argued that the natural sciences, in nature and educational aims, favour individuals with restricted styles, while the arts and humanities favour the "broader" cognitive styles. A link is drawn between these styles and the complexity of the individual's cognitive structure, and the hypothesis is tested that a preference for and success in the arts as against the sciences is a function of an increase in complexity. Results in support of the hypothesis is presented and implications of the findings are discussed. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1973.

Ramūnas Bagdonas. Peculiarity of management styles of medium level managers in Kaunas hotels and employers attitude to it. Master degree final work./ Supervisor doc.dr. R. Mikalauskas. Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education, Faculty of Sports Technologies and Tourism, Department of Recreation, Tourism and Sports Management. Kaunas, 2006 SUMMARY Setting background of scientific problem author notices that communication style of manager with employers, his work stile isn’t only personal but also social thing. From communication depends employer’s satisfaction of work, psychological background of collective and productivity of activity. Manager must know not only technique and technology but also people management and art background and its components: psychology, ethics, logic, etc. Manager should not only understand but also use this knowledge every day planning collective work and in interaction with employers. In other hand, we should analyze management stiles peculiarity, look at specific managers attributes. We also should analyze how managers recognize their role. Such information could give us understanding how management styles impacts to organization activity. Research object – Peculiarity of management styles. The aim of research – evaluate peculiarity management styles of medium level managers in Kaunas hotels and employers attitude to it. Research goals: 1. To take main theoretical organization management issues; 2. To analyze management styles classification... [to full text]

No description available.

The long-held notion that gifted students prefer to work alone is reported in several general textbooks on gifted children. However, studies addressing this issue are mixed and certainly not conclusive. Earlier studies disagree on whether those gifted children who claim a preference for working alone do so as a function of grade and maturational stage, sex, or personality characteristics commensurate with increasingly higher IQs. The current study re-examines this notion through the lens of motivation through social-constructivist theory. Two hundred and forty-seven American school-identified gifted, high achieving, and non-identified (i.e., non-gifted, regular education) students in grades 4 through 12 participated. The measure used in this study was a survey comprising items used in past learning style-related research, items adapted from a personality index and an interest profile, as well as locally-developed open-ended questions regarding preferred learning conditions, learning-related personality characteristics, and perceptions of support in their learning. Participants also had the opportunity to offer ideas about ideal learning situations, and their beliefs on why some children versus others might prefer to work alone. Finally, this study attempted to confirm the hypothesis that those gifted students who feel adequately supported by those in their environment will be less likely to indicate a preference for working alone, compared to those who do not feel supported. Although some indication of a preference of gifted students to work alone was present, this preference was not strong because it varied based on how the question was posed. Moreover, sex and grade-related differences were noted. Perhaps most interestingly, in support of the hypothesis of the study, those participants who reported feeling least supported by others reported the strongest preference to work alone. Implications of these findings on classroom curriculum, future career functioning, and mental health are discussed.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Information technology)- Dept. of Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2008. vii, 131 leaves. / This study aimed to explore the impact of cognitive ability on the understanding of computer programming by students enrolled for a programming course at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The rationale for this study is provided by the general perception held by the academic community that computer programming is a difficult faculty to master. This assertion is corroborated by reports of high failure rates in computer programming courses at tertiary institutes. A literature review was undertaken to investigate the contribution of other factors on the ability to achieve competence in computer programmer. Based on the outcome of the literature review, this study argues that cognitive ability warrants a higher priority relative to the other factors. As a strategy, cognitive science theory was consulted to establish a framework to quantify competency in computer programming. On the basis of this endeavour, two protocols were identified to facilitate the quantification process. The first was the “deep and surface” protocol used in previous studies to ascertain students’ cognitive style of understanding for computer programming. The second was an error analysis framework which was developed as part of the current study. These protocols were used as frameworks to underpin the data collection phase of the study. This study found that at least 50% of the students enrolled in a computer programming course adopt a superficial approach to the understanding of computer programming. In order to explain this phenomenon, a cognitive ability test was administered. Here it was established that at least 39% of these students have not reached a level of cognitive development that will enable the invocation of abstract thought. The study also found that this inability to handle abstractionism, an essential requirement for success in computer programming, is reflected in the severity of errors made in computer programming assessment tasks.