STUDYING LEARNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF STUDENTS

STUDYING LEARNING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF STUDENTS

The importance of understanding learning from the students’ perspectives has been acknowledged since the 1970s (Marton, Dall’Alba & Beaty, 1993; Säljö, 1979). Most of these studies have involved university and secondary school students (Entwistle, 1987) based on the premise that students need to be articulate enough to describe their experiences and provide detailed information about learning. Various quantitative and qualitative studies have investigated learning from the perspective of students (see for example, Biggs, 1987; Kember, Wong & Leung, 1999; Marton et al., 1993; Marton & Säljö, 1976a, 1976b).

Quantitative investigations have used questionnaires and checklists such as Learning Process Questionnaires (LPQ) (Biggs, 1987) and Study Process

Questionnaire (SPQ) (Biggs, Kember & Leung, 2001). The LPQ has been used to measure approaches to learning among students in secondary schools and the SPQ has been used in higher education (Kember, Wong & Leung, 1999). These inventories were based on Marton and Säljö’s (1976a, 1976b) qualitative research on students’ approaches to learning. Questionnaires tend to be used for the large‐ scale measurement of ideas, beliefs and attitudes and are often used for comparison and statistical aggregation of data (Patton, 2002). However, the use of questionnaires and inventories in studying learning from the students’ perspectives has been critiqued on the basis that they do not elicit in‐depth and detailed information about experiences of learning (Biggs & Watkins, 1993). The disadvantage of using questionnaires and inventories to investigate learning is that data needs to fit into predetermined response choices (Patton, 2002). In the view of Biggs and Watkins (1993), ‘a major problem is that the context of learning particularly as perceived from students’ point of view, is difficult to probe through standardised questionnaires and statistical analysis …’ (p. 4).

It has been argued that a qualitative approach to research provides a way for researchers to elicit richer information about how students experience learning. Qualitative methodologies such as in‐depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups enable researchers to study selected issues in depth and obtain detailed descriptions of the students’ learning experiences without being constrained by predetermined categories of analysis that are often found in questionnaires (Patton, 2002). Furthermore, qualitative research into students’ It has been argued that a qualitative approach to research provides a way for researchers to elicit richer information about how students experience learning. Qualitative methodologies such as in‐depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups enable researchers to study selected issues in depth and obtain detailed descriptions of the students’ learning experiences without being constrained by predetermined categories of analysis that are often found in questionnaires (Patton, 2002). Furthermore, qualitative research into students’

Experiences of learning

A specific qualitative approach, which investigates students’ experience of learning, is phenomenography. Phenomenography has been used mainly to identify and describe the conceptions of learning held by students at different levels of schooling, ranging from preschool to university (see for example, Marton et al., 1993; Marton & Säljö, 1976a, 1976b; Pramling, 1983; Stekettee, 1997). Earlier phenomenographic studies on student learning found that a group of students may learn the same subject in the same class, but they may have different understandings or experiences of what it means to learn (Marton et al., 1993; Pang, 2003). Phenomenography can be considered a student‐centred approach to research, as it aims at understanding the variation in the ways in which students themselves experience learning (Marton & Säljö, 1976a, 1976b; Marton, 1981; Svensson, 1977).

The following sections review international research on students’ conceptions of learning, including phenomenographic research studies. Key findings of these studies include the relationship between students’ conceptions of learning and the ways in which they approach learning, which, in turn, affects academic achievement. The conceptions of learning held by students across different cultures and age groups are also reviewed in relation to the current study. This study draws on international research from Australia, Hong Kong, Nepal, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. Discussions from cross‐cultural studies between German, Flemish, Uruguan and Chinese students are also used as background to this study. Thus far, very little is known about how children conceive of learning in small countries like Brunei. The centralised education system in Brunei, as well as its religious and socio‐cultural practices, makes the context of the current study unique and, as such, offers new insights into how learning is experienced and approached by the children.