Record Detail

Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers)which
seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived
predispositions. To find outmore about their personal learning style, some adult learners
may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both
course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these
questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but
the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative
review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering
students’ learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion –
which remains hypothetical – onwhy the use of learning stylesmeasures continues to be
popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors
discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our
prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists)
aswell as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators’
quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while
learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and
weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.