ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGE GROUP, GENDER AND LEARNING PREFERENCES OF NURSING STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS OF NURSING IN ANAMBRA STATE

*Jovita Ochi, Samuel Ogenyi and Noreen Agbapuonwu

ABSTRACT

Learning preference is the way that different students learn. The learning preferences are relevant because students acquire and process information through different methods such as seeing, hearing, reading and touching. The study assessed the association between age group, gender and learning preferences among nursing students in Schools of Nursing in Anambra state. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. The respondents were 342 students selected by Random Sampling Technique. Instrument used for online data collection was Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kineasthetic questionnaire version 8.01 and the researcher’s demographic questionnaire. The respondents filled the questionnaire online based on their levels of study. Data were analyzed using Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kineasthetic standard algorithm, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25. Descriptive statistics was presented in frequency tables and percentages. Chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at p-value < 0.05 significance level. Findings showed that Age group and gender had significant associations χ2=58.37; p<0.001 and χ2=37.95; p<0.001 respectively with learning preferences of the students. Assessment of the learning preferences of the students is thus, an input of great value in nursing education. The knowledge may help educators to plan teaching methods based on learning preferences; the use of varied teaching methods that address different learning preferences of the students would optimize learning and improve their academic performance. Preparation of Nursing Curriculum that utilizes more active strategies to accommodate the diverse learning preferences of the students in their different age groups and gender is recommended.

Keywords: Nursing students, age, gender, association and Learning Preferences.