Learning strategies: An answer to our Christian responsibilities towards multicultural education?

Abstract

In a country where development is currently a high priority, effective and efficient learning presents special imperatives for multicultural higher education. One of man's Christian responsibilities is that of education, and in the changing society of the RSA teaching will require a sensitivity to the variation in individual personalities as well as diversity in culture. Students, however, need to realise that they will have to assume a greater responsibility and accountability for their own learning. Knowledge of their own learning and study strategies and application of these can contribute significantly to the accomplishment of optimal learning. An emphasis shift from improved teaching to improved learning has resulted in a depiction of the learner as an active participant in the teaching-learning act. Various instruments for the assessment of learning and study strategies have been developed since the sixties. Two instruments of the past decade that have been tested at the Potchefstroom University since 1989 are discussed and the adoption o f the LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory) is motivated.