Types psychologiques et styles d'apprentissage

From Jungian Types to Learning Styles 

David J. BOURNE

David J. Bourne is an occupational psychologist, writer and researcher whose field of activity is C.G. Jung’s theory of Psychological Types, and related ideas and applications.

He has conducted Coaching Programs in France since 1995,

Training & Consulting since the 1990.

Contact: dbourne61@yahoo.co.uk

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The study of learning styles seems to be a rather recent phenomenon. Different instruments of learning styles have appeared in the last fifty years. They collectively measure about 20 aspects of learning styles (Keefe, 1982) and that is probably the reason why teachers and educators are sometimes confused. If most learning styles instruments assess how the student is behaving, they rarely provide clues to whether student’s behavior is truly his or her personal learning style or how each was taught to learn. Rather than trying to assess behavior some teachers and educators prefer to assess personality type by using an instrument based on Jungian theory of types and individuation process. Once the student’s type is identified, educators are able to underlie his or her cognitive functions and make predictions, on a probability model, about how that student learns best, what kind of environments facilitate or hinder learning, which may be consistent with his or her behavior, and consequently, suggest alternative methods of study.

The IJTI-Process® personality assessment tool as other Jungian type instruments is a familiar tool on most campuses and training organizations. Designed to help people identify their psychological type in relation with C. G. Jung’s theory, the IJTI-Process® instrument has been developed in Europe to provide information on people’s natural preferences for the psychological functions. The IJTI-Process® is a brief, easy to administer, self-report questionnaire actually available in English, French and German. All items of the questionnaire are acceptable to people from a broad range of cultural backgrounds, providing a modern, reliable and valid identification  of Jungian type.

Within colleges and universities the IJTI-Process® can be used to enhance personal effectiveness and facilitate campus retention by identifying students learning styles through Jungian types. According to many educators the major strength of the IJTI-Process® instrument is its conceptualization of the whole person and the notion of lifelong development of personality (individuation) linked with the different stages of life. If the first stage of life clearly refers to childhood, the second refers to early and middle adulthood, and the third one to middle and late adulthood and old age. According to C.G. Jung, the two major crises of individuation fall in the transition between adolescence and early adulthood and the second at midlife. IJTI-Process® instrument helps teachers and educators understand students by identifying cognitive and affective differences that influence learning and development especially during the first transition. The theory of type development states that everyone has the capability of using all four of the functions: two perception functions and two judgment functions. In the first stage of life, we specialize; we tend to develop clear preferences and use them freely. The second stage of life is dedicated to complete the process by becoming less specialized.

If the IJTI-Process® instrument is not a panacea to identify learning styles, it is certainly a very powerful and useful tool for teachers and educators willing to help students understand how they learn best. In one single profile, this instrument may offer a wealth of useful informations regarding to students’ natural interests, commitments and values, learning styles and students preferences and also the way they experience the campus climate.

Teachers, educators, counselors and faculty members will certainly find innovative ideas for implementing or expanding the use of the IJTI-Process® assessment tool in Higher Education through one of the approved training programs such as one offered by the official publisher of the instrument: OTT Partners from London. The company has developed a special partnership program for teachers and researchers willing to use the IJTI-Process® instrument for their research or with their students.

Actually, one of my students in a Business School in France is conducting a research trying to find if there is any correlation between the IJTI-Process® profiles and the profiles given by John Holland instrument. My own field of research deals with the link between Jungian types and campus retention. A complete presentation of these works will be done on the next international congress of Psychological Types organized by INDIVIDUATION Magazine, on the 3^rd of June 2010 in Paris.

 This article was first published in ELSIN Newsletter.