Studying technology: An investigation of approaches to studying and perceptions of teaching in a Finnish university of technology

The purpose of the study is to examine relations between university students' approaches to studying and their evaluative perceptions of the instructional context. The subjects (n=181) were sampled randomly from engineering and architecture students representing different departments and age groups. The data were collected with a questionnaire. Thirty students out of the total sample were also interviewed. The analysis concentrated on comparing correlations between approaches to studying and perceptions of teaching between different subgroups of the sample. The subgroups were (a) experienced-inexperienced, (b) efficient-inefficient, and (c) full-time-part-time students. The study showed that approaches to studying and perceptions of teaching are related to each other in a complex way when seen through the pairwise group comparisons. It seems obvious that students' experiences of teaching and their perceptions of it are closely related to their approaches to studying and their overall orientation in their studies. Educational implications are discussed.

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