University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA EXPLORING THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN LEARNING STYLES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES OF SHS STUDENTS IN INTEGRATED SCIENCE IN GOMOA EAST DISTRICT EBENEZER ATO BAIDEN 8150130008 A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, FACULTY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (SCIENCE EDUCATION) DEGREE NOVEMBER, 2017 University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DECLARATION Student’s declaration I, Ebenezer Ato Baiden,, declare that this thesis, with the exception of quotations and references contained in published works which have all been identified and duly acknowledged, is entirely my own original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part or whole, for another degree elsewhere. Signature …………..……………………….. Date: …….……..…………………………… Supervisor’s declaration I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervision of thesis as laid down by the University of Education, Winneba. Name of Supervisor: Prof. (Mrs.) Ruby Hanson Signature …………..………………………… Date: …….……..…………………………….. ii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research has become possible through the assistance from a number of people. I render my first profound gratitude to the Almighty God for His protection, and making my Master‟s Programme a success. Secondly, I would like to give many thanks to Dr. Camilla Adelle (UK), Mr. Ivor James (South Africa), Mr. Brian Dannes Moore (UK) and Ms. Michealla Dicks (UK), who sponsored my entire university education and also for their friendship and encouragements. To them, I say may the good Lord reward them in countless multiples. Also, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Prof. (Mrs.) Ruby Hanson (UEW) for her encouragement and supervision during this work. Further, I acknowledge the respondents at Potsin T. I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School, and Fetehman Senior High School who provided useful data for me to undertake this work successfully. Many thanks also go to my wife Mrs. Ivy Baiden and my sister Comfort Aba Baiden for their inspiration and moral support. Finally, I am grateful to all my friends especially Ocloo Elichem and Daniel Nti for their friendship and contributions while I took this course and carried out this thesis. I say, may God bless all of you. iii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Dr. Camilla Adelle and her husband, Mr. Ivor James, her sister Micky Moore and her father Mr. Brian Dennis Moore whose financial assistance have brought me to this level. I partly dedicate this work to my lovely children George Brian Baiden and Hank Appiah Baiden, my mother Agness Otto, my siblings and my friends for their overwhelming support and encouragement. iv University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii DEDICATION iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii ABSTRACT viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 Overview 1 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 4 1.3 Purpose of the study 6 1.4 Objectives of the study 6 1. 5 Research Questions 7 1.6 Hypothesis 7 1.7 Assumptions of the study 7 1.8 Significance of the study 8 1.9 Delimitations and Limitations 8 1.9.1 Delimitations 8 1.9.2 Limitations 9 1.10 Operational definition of terms 9 1.11 Organisation of the Dissertation 10 v University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 1.12 Chapter summary 11 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12 2.0 Overview 12 2.1 Definition of learning style 12 2.2 Theoretical framework 14 2.3 The VAK learning style model 17 2.4 The Concept of Academic Achievement 24 2.5 Learning style versus form/grade level 27 2.6 Learning style versus gender/sex 27 2.7 Learning style versus academic performance 30 2.8 Research gap identified 33 2.9 Learning styles versus teaching styles 33 2.10 Implication of learning styles 38 2.11 The Integrated Science Curriculum 40 2.12 Issue of Learning Style Instruments 44 2.13 Some other models of learning styles 47 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 52 3.0 Overview 52 3.1 The study area 52 3.2 Research Design 55 3.3 Study Population 55 3.4 Sampling procedure 56 3.4.1 Sampling for the district. 56 3.4.2 Sampling for the students 56 3.5 Sample composition 57 vi University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 3.6 Instrumentation 58 3.6.1 Scoring of the instrument 60 3.6.2 Description of Integrated Science Achievement Test (ISAT) 60 3.6.3 Pilot testing of instrument 61 3.7 Experimental procedure 61 3.8 Validity and Reliability of the Instruments 62 3.8.1 Validity 62 3.8.2 Reliability 63 3.9 Data analysis and presentation 64 CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS 65 4.0 Overview 65 4.1 Gender distribution of respondents 65 4.2 Distribution of form and gender of the respondents 66 4.3 Research Question 1 66 4.4 Research Question 2 70 4.5 Research Question 3 73 4.6 Research Question 4 76 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81 5.0 Overview 81 5.1 Summary of key findings 81 5.2 Conclusion 83 5.3 Recommendations 84 REFERENCES 85 APPENDICES 99 vii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Population of students in the two public Senior High Schools 56 2. Breakdown of sample size for the study 58 3. Gender Distribution of Respondents 65 4. Crosstab of Grade Level/ Forms and Gender 66 5. Summary Statistics of Learning Style Preferences among SHS Students in Gomoa East District 67 6. Cross tabulation of Forms and Learning styles 70 7. Summary of statistics of academic scores of first and second year students in the district 71 8. Pearson product moment correlation between learning styles preference of first and second year students 72 9. Crosstab of Learning Style and Gender of Respondents 73 10. Summary Statistics of Academic Scores of Male and Female Students in Gomoa East District 74 11. Pearson Product Moment Correlation between Learning Style Preferences of Male and female Students 75 12. A Snapshot of Observations Subjected to Data Transformation 78 13. Pearson Product Moment Correlation between Learning Style and Academic Achievement in Science among students in the District 78 viii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SHS Senior High School VAK Visual Auditory and Kinesthetic learning styles VARK Visual Auditory Read/Write Kinesthetic ISAT Integrated Science Achievement Test WAEC West African Examination Council WASSCE West Africa School Certificate Examination IBM International Business Machine SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science Research LSI Learning Style Instrument TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science study ix University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh Abstract The present study was an attempt to explore the correlation between learning styles of SHS students and their academic performances in science in the Gomoa East district of Ghana. The target population of the study was all the students in the Gomoa district. The accessible population was students in the two public senior high schools in the Gomoa East district. The study was conducted using a sample size of 280 students. The instruments used for the study were adapted „VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire‟ developed by Chislett & Chapman (2005) as well as results from Integrated Science Achievement Test (ISAT). The validity of the adapted instrument was enhanced through assessment provided by a professor in science education and two Mphil students who were familiar with the purpose of the survey. Both the Learning style questionnaire and the ISAT were subjected to a reliability test which recorded a Cronbach‟s alpha value of 0.80 and 0.85 respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, in terms of frequencies, means, and standard deviation. Pearson‟s moment correlation and t-test were also employed to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that the most preferred learning style of secondary school students in the district was Visual (43.6%) followed by Kinesthetic (30%), and Auditory (26.4%). Moreover, the study revealed that there was a positive correlation between learning style of students and the academic performance in science. It was also found that a statistical difference existed between learning styles of first and second year students in the district. However, correlation between the learning style preferences of males and female students in the district was statistically insignificant. The findings of the study would enable curriculum planners to suggest more student-accepted curriculum. It would also suggest to school administrators to look into the development of facilities to enhance students of Integrated Science. x University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Overview This chapter deals with the: background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, hypothesis, assumptions of the study, significance of the study, limitation and delimitation of the study. 1.1 Background to the Study There are a number of learning-related concepts, such as perception of academic control and achievement motivation which have been the focus of attention when attempting to identify factors that affected learning-related performance (Cassidy & Eachus, 2000). One concept in particular which has provided some valuable insights into learning in both academic and other settings is learning style.