Rural/Inner City Student Background

The population for a study by Carruthers and Young (1979) consisted of 50 eighth-grade students from rural and inner-city schools located in middle Georgia.

Twenty-five subjects from each of the populations were selected randomly and administered the Learning Style Inventory (Dunn, Dunn, & Price, 1975). The instructions for completion of the instrument were explained and additional assistance in reading the statements was offered when difficulties were apparent.

The researchers employed a simple Analysis of Variance on the scores of the four periods of optimum learning time within each group. After determining levels of significance through the use of Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test, a t-test for independent samples was employed to determine if significant differences had been revealed between the rural and inner-city students’ responses.

The mean score for each of the four time periods (early morning, late morning, afternoon, and evening) was calculated for use in comparison with the others’. The validity of the results was verified through the use of an analysis of variance and Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test within each group, followed by a t-test for independent samples between the groups.

The findings concluded that no significant differences had been evidenced in the time-of-day when optimum learning occurred between rural and inner-city schools. It did reveal that both groups of tested students preferred to learn in the afternoon.

At the time the study was undertaken, no prior consideration had been given to the learning styles of the students. It was documented that those in the inner-city school whose learning Time preferences matched the time of day in which they had been scheduled for math classes caused fewer discipline problems than those who were mismatched. Twelve of the students that were matched correctly with their Time preference by chance, also had achieved academically with fewer motivational influences from their teacher. Carruthers and Young’s early study pioneered the later experimental research conducted by Lynch (1981), Virostko (1983), and Freeley (1984).