Constructive alignment is often promoted as a principle to enhance the quality of learning but the student perspective has often been neglected when exploring its influence on student learning. There is therefore a need to further explore how students' experiences of the different elements of constructive alignment influence the approach to…

This study aims, firstly, to examine the nature of the surface approach to learning in today's university context, and secondly, to explore the factors that explain variations in the use of this approach. The 61 participants were studying in six Bachelor programmes representing various disciplines. These students scored above average on a surface…

Research shows that a surface approach to learning is more common among students in the natural sciences, while students representing the "soft" sciences are more likely to apply a deep approach. However, findings conflict concerning the stability of approaches to learning in general. This study explores the variation in students'…

The study explored factors explaining changes in a deep approach to learning. The data consisted of interviews with 12 students from four Bachelor-level courses representing different disciplines. We analysed and compared descriptions of students whose deep approach either increased, decreased or remained relatively unchanged during their courses.…