The Learning Styles of Penan Ethnicity Students in IPG Kampus Sarawak, Malaysia
Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Ipoh, Malaysia
Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Sarawak, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the learning styles and the academic achievement of the third year PISMP Penan Ethnicity Students in Institute of Teachers Education Sarawak Campus, Miri. This study involved 37 respondents comprising eight males and 29 females students from various options. A set of questionnaire with a four-point scale was used as the instrument to measure the five stimuli of students’ learning styles (Environmental, Emotional, Sociological, Physical and Psychological) by Dunn and Dunn (1978). The Alpha Cronbach coefficient value for this study is 0.847. The results indicate that the overall learning style of the respondents is generally moderate (M=2.89, SP=0.17). The two most dominant learning styles practiced by the respondents are the emotional stimulus learning style (M=3.03, SP=0.22) and the sociological stimulus learning style (M=3.09, SP=0.22) followed by the psychological stimulus learning style (M=2.91, SP=0.34), the physical stimulus (M=2.83, SP=0.34) and finally the environmental stimulus learning style (M=2.60, SP=0.24). There is a significant correlation found between the psychological stimulus with the academic achievement (r = 0.333*, p < 0.05). However there is no correlation found between the others stimulus learning style with the students’ academic achievement. The various learning styles adopted by these students give different effects to the norms and seriousness in their academic performance. Additionally, some areas of study to improve the teaching and learning strategy are also recommended.
KEYWORDS
Learning styles, academic achievement, emotional stimulus, psychological stimulus, Dunn and Dunn Model’s, Penan Ethnicity Students