The influence of personality and chronotype on distance learning willingness and anxiety among vocational high school students in Turkey

Abstract

There are many studies related to distance learning. Willingness and anxiety are important variables for distance learning. Recent research has shown that anxiety and willingness towards distance learning are moderated by personality. This study sought to investigate whether distance learning willingness and distance learning anxiety are associated with age, gender, occupation, chronotype and personality in a Turkish vocational high school students sample. Two measures of individual differences were implemented: chronotype (morningness/eveningness preference) and BIG-5 dimensions (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness). Seven hundred and sixty-nine vocational high school students from Turkey filled out a self-administered questionnaire. Evening types, older, and female students had higher distance learning willingness scores than morning types, younger, and male students. No significant difference was found between chronotype groups with respect to distance learning anxiety. Furthermore, extraverted students reported a lower distance learning anxiety. Openness to experience was associated with high distance learning willingness. We conclude that evening types may benefit from distance learning more than other types.

The impact of personality on students' perceptions towards online learning

“…Many empirical studies have shown the advantages of short questionnaires over long questionnaires in terms of effective response rate (Harris, 1997;Salisbury et al, 2005). Third, previous studies (e.g., Keller & Karau, 2013;Randler et al, 2014;Van Bragt, Bakx, Bergen, & Croon, 2010) explored the relationship between personality types and perceptions towards online learning; however, most of their survey constructs did not address the design features of online courses. For instance, the studies by Keller and Karau (2013) and Randler et al (2014) are similar to each other; they focus mainly on acceptance/willingness and anxiety of students towards online learning.…”

“…Third, previous studies (e.g., Keller & Karau, 2013;Randler et al, 2014;Van Bragt, Bakx, Bergen, & Croon, 2010) explored the relationship between personality types and perceptions towards online learning; however, most of their survey constructs did not address the design features of online courses. For instance, the studies by Keller and Karau (2013) and Randler et al (2014) are similar to each other; they focus mainly on acceptance/willingness and anxiety of students towards online learning. These constructs are not helpful in terms of the design perspective (i.e., how to design online courses to minimise problems and accommodate different personality traits).…”

“…(5) Intellect/imagination Individuals who score high on the trait of intellect are eager to explore new ideas and experiences (Komarraju et al, 2011). They are more willing to attend online courses (Randler et al, 2014). Hence, we predicted that intellect/imagination will be positively related with positive perceptions towards online learning.…”

“…From the above studies, we can conclude that personality does play an important role in students' learning experiences. There are many personality trait models available, but a widely accepted and applied model is the fivefactor model (FFM) (Costa & McCrae, 1992;Randler, Horzum, & Vollmer, 2014). According to these authors, personality traits can be separated into five factors: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and intellect/imagination experience (see Table 1).…”

Perceptions of Transactional Distance in Blended Learning Using Location-Based Mobile Devices

“…In the development of an MLE, we also considered several key thinking styles (e.g., those most relevant to students engaged in mobile learning), which have been described as contributing to achieving learning goals more effectively (Dunn & Honigsfeld, 2013; Fan & Zhang, 2014; Ford, 1985, 1995, Pask, 1976, 1988; Schmeck, 1988; Witkin, Moore, Goodenough, & Cox, 1977), and gender differences. Both elements were examined to better ensure that the mediated experience was relevant to the students participating in mobile learning.…”