Preferred ‘learning styles’ in students studying sports‐related programmes in higher education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This article investigates the ‘preferred learning styles’ and their relationship with grades for students undertaking sports‐related undergraduate programmes at a higher education institution in the UK. Preferred ‘learning styles’ in students in this discipline have been identified as auditory, kinaesthetic and group, although the vast majority of students are multimodal in their learning preferences. Only individual learning style preference was found to be positively related to higher grade category, and group learning style preference was negatively related to grade category. The research aims to highlight the importance of a constructive alignment between sports learning activities and the learning styles of sports students, in order to enhance progression towards established sports learning outcomes. An issue of significance for the practitioner would be rebalancing learning and teaching methods to take cognisance of particular preferred learning styles, while still seeking to ensure that all learning styles are supported.