Learning styles of the University of Chile’s Faculty of Dentistry’s incoming student cohort of 2017 and their relationship with socioeducative indicators

Abstract

The Chilean educational system suffers from a problem of socio-economic and academic segregation, that determines that students from vulnerable contexts encounter greater difficulty in achieving academically.  This stems from a gap between the knowledge and skills developed in school, and those that are required to enroll on a university course. Metacognitive support – whereby a learning styles approach teaches the relevant information – is effective in addressing the issue.  This research aims to characterize the learning styles of the University of Chile’s Faculty of Dentistry’s incoming student cohort of 2017 through employing Honey and Alonso’s questionnaire of learning styles, and evaluating if there is a significant relationship between various socioeducative characteristics such as geographical origin, high school grades, results of the university selection tests and type of school. A sample of 66 participants was analyzed, with results showing a predominance of the reflexive style of learning (62,8%).  Significant relationships with learning styles wasn't found.