A factor analysis of the preferred learning styles of Industrial Technology and Engineering undergraduate students at North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University and at Iowa State University

This study examined the learning style preferences of African American and European American undergraduate students in the Industrial Technology and Engineering programs at North Carolina A&T State University and Iowa State University. In this study, the independent variables employed were ethnicity, discipline, and the named institutions. The dependent variables were the 20 learning style preferences in the Productivity Environmental Survey (PEPS). Convenience sampling was used to collect 540 students. A factor analysis was used to determine the preferred learning styles for African American and European American students at each institution. In addition, the hypotheses were tested by the Box's M test in the discriminant analysis. The hypotheses were tested at an a priori level of .05 to ascertain significant differences in the factor structures or groups.; The findings of the study concluded that: (1) there were differences in the factor loading profiles of African American and European American students at each institution, regardless of discipline, and (2) there were no differences between the factor loading profiles of Industrial Technology and Engineering students at either institution. Further analyses were generated to determine additional findings on African American and European American learning styles within their respective disciplines. The analyses consisted of examining if there were differences between factor loading profiles by combining both ethnic groups from each program, regardless of institution. The findings concluded that there were no differences between the factor loading profiles of the students enrolled in the two programs.