The Social-Interaction Learning Styles of Irish Adult Learners: Some Empirical Findings

An action research project was conducted to understand the learning style profile of Irish adult learners better and to integrate the findings into development seminars for adult education teachers and tutors. The Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Styles Scale (GRSLSS) was chosen as the research instrument to explore Irish adults' learning styles with 532 adult education learners attending certificate or diploma programs organized by University College Cork. Six styles were measured: Independent, Dependent, Participant, Avoidant, Collaborative, and Competitive. Data indicated Irish adult learning styles were high in the dimensions of Participant, Collaborative, and Dependent and low Avoidant and Competitive. The analysis of variance results confirmed comparative findings with the GRSLSS with males adopting more Independent and Competitive styles than females and older learners more participatory in style and younger learners higher in Avoidance and Competitiveness. (Contains 25 references and 7 tables.) (YLB)