Student characteristics associated with dominant approaches to studying: Comparing a national and an international sample

Abstract

Background: Productive approaches to studying (deep and strategic learning) are associated with a variety of favorable academic outcomes, and may be of particular importance for students in multifaceted and complex disciplines such as occupational therapy. Aim: To explore associations between student characteristics and their dominant approaches to studying in two samples of occupational therapy students: A national sample of Norwegian first-year students, and an international sample of students in different year cohorts (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Norway). Materials and methods: 180 (national sample) and 665 (international sample) students were included in the study. Approaches to studying were measured with the Approaches to Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). Data were analyzed with adjusted multinomial regression analyses. Results: Age, gender and prior higher education were not associated with dominant study approach. More time spent on independent study (international sample: OR = 1.07/1.08, p <.01/<.001) and having current study program as the top priority line of education at enrolment (national sample: OR = 2.89, p <.05) predicted productive study approaches. Conclusions and significance: Factors such as age, gender and prior higher education seem to be of limited importance for understanding students' dominant approaches to studying.

Occupational therapy students’ preferences for teaching and course design across a three-year undergraduate education program

“…This longitudinal observational study is part of a larger inquiry regarding the perceived learning environment (Thordardottir et al , 2020; Thygesen et al , 2020), approaches to studying (DaLomba et al , 2020; Gramstad et al , 2020; Mørk et al , 2020; Thørrisen et al , 2020) and academic performance (Bonsaksen et al , 2021) among occupational therapy students in Norway. The study employed data from the students in their first, second and third year of study.…”

Predictors of students’ participation in a learning environment survey with annual follow-ups

“…Gender (male = 0, female = 1), having prior experience from higher education (no = 0, yes = 1) and having occupational therapy as the highest prioritized line of education at the time of enrolment (no = 0, yes = 1) were registered as categorical variables. The variables measuring prior experience from higher education and educational priority at enrolment were included due to their associations with academic performance and approaches to studying, as established in previous research [ 13 – 15 ].…”

Stable and unstable associations between learning environment factors and study approaches: two consecutive cross-sectional analyses of Norwegian occupational therapy students

“…A national inquiry in Norway has so far expanded the knowledge about occupational therapy students’ perceptions of the learning environment (Stigen et al, 2022 ; Thordardottir et al, 2020 ) and approaches to studying (Gramstad et al, 2020 ; Mørk et al, 2020 , 2022 ; Thørrisen et al, 2020 ) during the three years of study. One of these studies constitutes a particularly interesting backdrop for this study, because it examined associations between perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to studying among the students while in their first year of the study program (Mørk et al, 2020 ).…”