DETERMINATION OF PREFERRED LEARNING STYLES OF ADULT LEARNERS AS A MEANS OF ENHANCING THEIR SCHOOLING BEHAVIOR IN ADULT LITERACY CENTRES IN CROSS RIVER STATE

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to determine the preferred learning styles of adult learners as a means of enhancing their schooling behavior in adult literacy centres in Cross-River State. Four specific purposes, each with corresponding research questions, were posed and four hypotheses postulated. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study is 2779. A sample of 400 was drawn using Yaro-Yammani. The instrument for data collection was a 28 items questionnaire titled “Adult Learners Preferred Learning Styles Questionnaire (ALPLSQ)”. The questionnaire was on a four point rating options as follows: Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE), Very Low Extent (VLE), and Low Extent (LE). The instrument was validated by three experts: one from Adult Education Department, one from Measurement and Evaluation Unit, and the other from Library and Information Science Unit. The grand reliability co-efficient of .963 was obtained. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation for research questions and t-test statistics for the hypothesis testing at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that visual, auditory, kinesthetic and environmental learning styles are preferred adult learning styles in adult literacy centres in Cross River State. Teaching these adults according to their preferred learning styles will enhance their schooling behavior in these adult literacy centres in Cross-River State. The findings further revealed among others that there is need to emphasize on adult learners’ preferred learning style aids in teaching learning situations in all the adult literacy centres in Cross River-State, so as to promote learning Formation of study groups by adult learners should be encouraged to maximize learning since kinesthetic learning style is adult learner preferred learning styles. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that adult learners in Cross River State should be allowed to choose preferred learning styles. Moreover, the instructors and educators in the state should be advised to tailor their teaching styles to match each adult learner’s styles so as to enhance learning.