Research into learning strategies students adopt in tackling academic work is reviewed. A report is presented of a research program underway at the Institute for Post-Compulsory Education at the University of Lancaster which is examining characteristics of students who adopt deep-level or surface processing strategies. (JMD)

There seems to be much justified scepticism about the value of learning theories and educational research when applied to the complexities of student learning. Discusses some insights provided by educational and psychological research and its practical value for lecturers and students in higher education. (Author/RK)

The development of an inventory of approaches to studying, undertaken at the University of Lancaster, is reported. Concepts such as motivation, study behavior, styles, and strategies are considered, the inventory scale is defined, and relationships between study strategies and academic performance are discussed. (Author/JMD)

The current stage in an on-going research program of student learning is summarized. With two more years to run, provisional research provides the beginnings of a model of student learning which is neither static nor mechanistic. Recent research has placed emphasis on describing how students learn and how learning is affected by the academic…

A series of studies carried out in Aberdeen, Scotland and Lancaster England is used to illustrate changing interests in the area of personality and learning. The early studies looked for general relationships, adopting a psychometric approach. Recent work has been focused more on the process of learning, particularly in higher education, and on…

European studies that investigated motivational and contextual influences on students' approaches to learning are reviewed. The studies used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Both interviews with students and factor analysis of inventories have assessed deep and surface approaches to learning. In some studies, learning approaches in…

Argues that principles of learning drawn from mainstream psychology are unlikely to be as helpful in understanding the learning which takes place in school or universities as are those which are drawn more directly from research on students which develops explanations directly from the learner's own school experiences. (Author/CM)

In an effort to further explore the experience of understanding from the university perspective, this study examined how British students' understanding was refined and committed to memory during preparation for final examinations. After piloting an interviewing procedure, in-depth interviews were conducted with eleven students from psychology…

Two studies in Scotland used similar questionnaires to examine relationships between approaches to studying and students' preferences for different types of learning environments. The first study also examined the relationship with students' evaluations of their courses, while the second included reasons for choosing that course (educational…