Differences in the use of learning strategies in university education students

Abstract

Given that university students may have different ways of organizing their learning, the use of learning strategies was investigated among students from three education programs at the University of Cuenca. A quantitative approach was used, applying the CEVEAPEU questionnaire to evaluate 25 learning strategies to a sample of 305 university students. The differences in strategy use were analyzed based on: programs, the year of study, and the students' gender. Significant differences were found in the use of 14 learning strategies across the three programs investigated; men used more motivational and affective strategies, while women were better at managing learning skills; and motivational strategies and strategies that favor rote learning were more prevalent in the first year of studies. It is important to understand how students employ learning strategies because this facilitates the design of educational strategies appropriate to the context of the groups studied.