Environment and Social Psychology

Assessing learning strategies among Indigenous University researchers: A comparative analysis of the brief ACRA scale

Muhammad Kamran

Department of Education, University of Loralai

Warda Saleh

Government Associate College for Women Dhamyal

Iqra Ameer

National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-I-Azam University

Sarfraz Aslam

Faculty of Education and Humanities, UNITAR International University

Sharareh Shahidi Hamedani

Faculty of Business, UNITAR International University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v9i7.2872

Keywords: learning strategies, indigenous, university researchers, brief ACRA scale

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Abstract

Learning strategies have been critical due to a large body of evidence verifying their association with various outcomes such as academic success, creativity, critical thinking, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness, emotional intelligence, and student motivation. Therefore, identifying better learning strategies can benefit students and teachers. Learning strategies have been widely examined on several scales, among which the ACRA brief scale for university students is the most popular, especially in Spain. In Pakistan, validation of the ACRA scale is important so that indigenous researchers can use it according to their context and culture. The present study examined the factor structure of the ACRA brief scale using a cross-validation approach that involves an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 951(M = 533, F = 417) students from Pakistani Universities. The results proposed a 17-item version with three factors: micro-strategies, keys for memory and metacognition, and emotional-social support with satisfactory psychometric properties. Furthermore, the key for memory and metacognition factors is significantly associated with the CGPA of students and is higher in women than in men; however, the effect sizes of these findings are small. The validated version of the brief ACRA scale can be used to assess the learning strategies. In addition, it is suggested that national researchers and MS and Ph.D. students can use the validated scale version in their research studies, including project papers, theses, and dissertations. Directly teaching students about the techniques and benefits of learning strategies can help them overcome their hesitation.

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