Trends in learning styles amongst black and white South African learners in a multicultural classroom

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature supporting the importance of recognising individual learning styles and teaching styles. Using More's model, this study explored the prevalence of learning style profi'es amongst different racial groups within multicultural South African classrooms. Seven teachers at two multiracial, English medium schools completed the More Learning Style Inventory for 38 white learners and 30 black learners with a mean age of 11.4 years. In addition, each teacher completed the More Teaching Style Inventory. The findings suggested that learners from different racial groups showed a preference on certain learning style dimensions. In particular, white and black learners were found to differ significantly on the Global-Analytic and the Trial & feedback- Reflective dimensions. Furthermore, an investigation of teaching styles supported mismatches between teachers’ teaching style and learners’ learning style, especially where learning style differences emerged. This study highlights the possible usefulness of learning style research for addressing the challenges faced by teachers in facilitating racial integration in classrooms.