Conceptions of learning among Portuguese students of Elementary Education

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand the conceptions of learning of elementary Portuguese students, by investigating possible replications and innovations in relation to the conceptions identified by phenomenographic research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, centered on three dimensions of conceptions of learning: referential (what is learning), procedural (how to learn), contextual (where one learns). Intermediate thematic analysis of the answers to the interviews showed a correspondence between observed learning conceptions and the basic conceptions revealed by Phenomenography (e.g., learning as accumulation of information, as comprehension or as a way to obtain school grades) and also allowed to unveil the existence of new conceptions of learning, which represent learning as the performance of specific activities, a return of information by explanation, or as an outcome achievable through personal and autonomous effort.