Constructivist learning environments and forms of learning in Ethiopian public universities: testing factor structures and prediction models

Abstract

While most quality debates about undergraduate education center on topics such as test scores, learning standards, and teacher quality and retention, the environment in which students learn is often neglected. We examined the dimensions of constructivist learning environments and further tested their linkages with student learning experiences across the forms of formal, non-formal, and informal episodes. To this end, the involved a cross-sectional survey design with relevant data from samples (N = 1121, Female = 454 and Male = 663) of volunteer undergraduate students enrolled in three public universities in Ethiopia. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of 4-factor learning forms and 5-factor constructivist learning environment scales. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated good fit for these models. Moreover, results of multiple regression analyses illustrated that the domains of constructivist learning environments significantly predicted the different forms of learning, 0.22 ≤ R2 ≥ 0.38, with personal relevance accounting for most of the variation (0.11 ≤ β ≥ 0.38). It was concluded that undergraduate students learn in diverse ways within a constructivist learning environment, but that non-formal learning episodes were relatively rare. This could be attributed to the minimal opportunities that students have had for non-formal learning during the undergraduate years in the studied context. Implications of the findings, limitations in the existing research and suggested improvements are discussed.