The Relationship between Students’ Approach to Learning and Lifelong Learning

Rita Barros, Angélica Monteiro, Fouad Nejmedinne, José António Moreira

Department of Education and Distance Teaching, Open University, Lisbon, Portugal.
Instituto Piaget/Universidade Jean Piaget, Praia, Cape Verde.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.411113                

Abstract

The current investigation proposes to analyse the relationship between learning, from the appropriation students’ make of the different ways of learning and studying, and their willingness to be involved in lifelong learning (LL) activities. The theoretical rationale is inscribed in the Biggs’ Theory (1987), concerning the student’s approach to learning, and under the guiding principle of LL. The concept of LL has been understood and formalised in a distinct way, translated into different educational policies, the practices of which must be empirically supported. We present a correlational study, with a sample of 163 Higher Education students. The approaches to learning were supported by the revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). To evaluate the involvement of students in LL activities, the contents of some items of the Lifelong Learning Questionnaire (Kirby, Knapper, Lamon, & Egnatoff, 2010) were used. The results obtained in the correlational analysis allow us to associate the deep approach to some characteristics of learners throughout their life, especially concerning the establishing of goals and the self-direction of learning, whereas the superficial approach is mainly associated with the adaptation of learning strategies. The practical implications of these results are discussed below.

Keywords

Higher Education; Learning Styles; Lifelong Learning

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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