Learning Styles and Motivation: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between learning styles and motivation among Counselling students at a Malaysian university. This study examines the impact of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) learning methods on students’ motivation levels within an academic setting. A quantitative study design was employed, involving 123 respondents who were Bachelor of Counselling students. The utilized instruments are the Self-Motivation Questionnaire developed by Nasirah Ismail, Norhasliza Abdullah, and Siti Zubaidah Saharudin (Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah) and the VAK Learning Style Model proposed by Fleming and Mills (1992). This study effectively identifies connections between learning styles and motivation among Counselling students. It shows a significant negative relationship for auditory and kinesthetic styles, while there is no significant relationship for visual learning. Although the study suggests that auditory and kinesthetic learners may have lower motivation, it does not provide direct qualitative insights into the students’ experiences to clarify this issue. Further research is warranted to explore the implications of these findings and to investigate additional factors including self-efficacy, curriculum design and the relevance of course content. This will help provide a fuller understanding of student motivation in Counselling programs.