Learning Styles of Children At-Risk: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

The researcher conducted a case study on the non-formal education program of three non-govemment organizations from Manila: Concordia Children’s Services, Kanlungan sa Erma, and Kaibigan Outreach Foundation Inc. The objective of the study was to identify the learning style preferences of children at-risk belonging to maltreated and non-maltreated groups. The study used the qualitative method. The PLSI questionnaire was used and revised to suit the study’s respondents. The questionnaire was composed of the socio-demographic part and the learning style subscales. In addition, an in- depth interview was conducted among each NGO’s teachers to obtain information regarding their specific institution’s non-formal education program and how it was being utilized to cater to the educational needs of children at-risk. After gathering the necessary data, the responses obtained from the PLSI questionnaire were tabulated and charted. The responses of the students from the NGO’s were separated accordingly. The Concordia Children’s Services belonged to the non-maltreated group while the maltreated group was composed of both the Kanlungan sa Erma and Kaibigan Ermita Outreach Foundation Inc. Results thereafter indicated differences in learning styles according to gender and age group. In the non-maltreated group, the dominant learning style preferences were ESFJ and INTI. Meanwhile, the maltreated group showed the following learning syle preferences: ESTJ, INTJ, INTP, ESFJ. The results obtained showed contrasts from previous studies which generally indicated that the population fell under either the ESFJ or ESTJ category, with the females falling under the former and the males falling under the latter. In addition, the results also provided new insights to the conclusions of previous studies which indicated that the INT combinations were characteristic only among highly intellectual individuals. Age-related learning style preferences showed similarities and contrasts from studies indicative of a gradual shift from perceiving to judging among elementary and high school students. Recommendations were then made to help improve the current non-formal education curriculum of the participating NGOs based from the results gathered.