Quality of Learning in Higher Education: Students’ Conceptions of Learning as a Critical Aspect

Abstract

Subjects present different ways to conceptualize and experience learning (e.g., Saljo, 1979; Marton, Dall Álba & Beaty (1993). This has also been confirmed by portuguese researches (e.g., Grácio 2002, Rosário et al., 2007). It was found the conceptions of learning influence the way students approach learning and the quality of learning outcomes. It was also established a link between the student conception of learning, the level of processing used and the understanding reached (e.g., Marton et al. 1993, Entwistle, 2009). The different conceptions of learning are normally classified in two large groups. A first group concerning the superficial conceptions of learning (i.e., increase of knowledge, memorization and application). These three conceptions share the common fact that knowledge is viewed as something external, emphasizing the storage and reproduction of information, implying a low level of cognitive processing. A second group concerning the transformational or deep conceptions of learning (i.e., understanding, seeing something differently and changing as a person) emphasizes the assignment of meaning and the transformation of the information, indicating complex cognitive processing. The research findings and results in this field were obtained through the use of qualitative methodologies, mainly in a phenomenography perspective. However, in 2002 Purdie and Hattie presented a questionnaire built from qualitative data to assess student’s conceptions of learning (COLI – Conceptions of Learning Inventory). In this study we present its validation for the portuguese higher education population through its application to 563 students of first year from the University of Évora.