Examining the Learning Style Preferences of Offenders at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Centre, South Africa

Abstract

This study examined the learning style preferences of offenders at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Centre, South Africa. Followed a quantitative approach and used cross-sectional survey design. Enu-meration sampling technique was applied due to small size of the pop-ulation (n = 571). Data were collected from 402 participants, yielding to response rate of 70.40%. A Kolb Learning Style Questionnaire was used to collect data. Kolb ‘s instrument can assess learning styles and provide a valuable framework for the design and management of learn-ing activities. The results show that many offenders strongly prefer di-verging/reflector learning style. This learning style influence the of-fenders’ learning experiences to a great extent. It is recommended that the South African Department of Correctional Services should consider providing customised training programmes to build the capacity of teachers/facilitators/learning designers so that they are able to ac-commodate the diverse learning styles of offenders during the classes and/or rehabilitation programmes.