11 research outputs found
Learning Environment Perceptions of European University Students
This article describes a study of the experiences of 610 Dutch students and 241
European students who studied at least three months abroad within the framework of an
international exchange program. The Dutch students went to a university in another European
country and the foreign students went to a Dutch university. Using a new questionnaire called
the Inventory of Perceived Study Environment (IPSE), students perceptions of eight
characteristics of the university learning environment were measured concerning the home
university, the host university and the ideal learning environment. With this instrument, the
learning environment can be described in terms analogous to the learning strategies performed.
Large differences were found between the different countries in university learning
environments, but students from different countries had strikingly similar opinions concerning
their desired learning environment. There was a strong preference for activating instruction
with a low threshold in teacher-student interaction and more room for student alternatives
The impact of the university context on European students' learning approaches and learning environment preferences
This article describes experiences of 610 Dutch students and 241 students from
other European countries who studied at least three months abroad within the framework
of an international exchange program. The Dutch students went to a university in another
European country and the foreign students went to a Dutch university. By means of a
questionnaire students perceptions of three main characteristics of the university learning
environment were measured concerning the home university, the host university and the ideal
learning environment. The students were also asked about their way of learning at the home
university and at the host university, in particular about the extent of constructive learning
and reproductive learning. Evidence was found for the influence of aspects of the learning
environment on the two learning approaches; e.g., a learning environment characterized as
student-oriented discourages reproductive learning and promotes constructive learning, especially
when conceptual and epistemological relations within the learning domain are stressed.
The learning environment preferences of the students were partly related to their learning
orientations at the home university, but they were strikingly similar for students from different
countries. There was a strong preference for those learning environment aspects that promote
constructive learning