The Relationship Between Learning Style, Academic Major, And Academic Performance Of College Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the learning style of 1994 incomingfreshmen students enrolled in the College of Food Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. The study investigated the relationships between learning style, academic performance, and selected student characteristics. Results of the study indicated that the 1994 enteringfreshmen tended to lean towards the field-independent learning style. The students in the study who were field-independent, in 1995, majored in Agribusiness and Applied Economics, Animal Sciences, Horticulture, or Agronomy. In 1996, the fieldindependent students majored in Agricultural Education, Animal Sciences, Food Science, or Horticulture. The field-dependent students, in 1995, majored in Agricultural Communication, Agricultural Education, and Food Science. In 1996, the field-dependent students majored in Agribusiness and Applied Economics, Agricultural Communication, Agricultural Systems Management, Agronomy, and Construction Systems Management. The results of the current study also indicated that field-dependent students were more likely to receive disciplinary action from the College due to a lower grade point average, than were fieldindependent students. Also, the findings indicated that as learning style score moved from dependent to independent, there were corresponding increases in ACT scores and cumulative grade point average. The evidence in the current study is clear to indicate that leaning style does positively influence academicachievement in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science.