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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a selection of papers from the 10th Annual European Learning Styles Information Network Conference.

The paper looks at problems, developments in the application of style and potential styles for practice in the area of cognitive and learning styles in education and training practice, with a brief look at the papers within this issue.

The paper finds that each of the papers presented here raises a number of pertinent issues which are significant in the ongoing debate regarding the value of cognitive and learning styles in education and training practice. These are presented in the form of ten key messages.

The paper presents a useful insight into the problems, politicisation and potential of learning styles in education and training.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue, which contains selected papers from the 13th Annual European Learning Styles Information Network (ELSIN) conference held in Ghent, Belgium in June 2008. One of the key aims of ELSIN is to promote understanding of individual learning and cognitive differences through the dissemination of international multidisciplinary research about learning and cognitive styles and strategies of learning and thinking.

Three papers within this special issue consider how style differences can inform the development of e‐learning opportunities to enhance the learning of all (Vigentini; Kyprianidou, Demetriadis, Pombortsis and Karatasios; Zhu, Valcke and Schellens). The influence of culture on learning is also raised in the paper of Zhu et al. and those of Sulimma and Eaves which both focus more directly on cultural influences on style, learning and teaching.

A number of key themes permeate the studies included in this special edition such as: the nature of styles; the intrinsic difficulty of isolating style variables from other variables impacting on performance; inherent difficulties in choosing the most appropriate style measures; the potential of e‐learning to attend to individual learning differences; the role of culture in informing attitudes and access to learning; the development of constructivist learning environments to support learning through an understanding of individual differences and most importantly how one can apply such insights about individual differences to inform and enhance instruction.

The papers in this special issue contribute to enhanced knowledge about the value of style differences to design constructive learning environments in multicultural and e‐learning contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the cognitive styles of trainee teachers with their notions of differentiation and perceptions of its place/location within their teaching and learning during a PGCE programme of ITE.

A total of 80 trainee teachers completed the Cognitive Style Index (CSI) at the beginning and at the end of their course. After completing the CSI measure trainees received instruction on cognitive styles. To assess their initial understanding and prior knowledge of differentiation, all trainees completed a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of their course.

At the outset rudimentary understandings of differentiation were found to be held by the trainees, as well as stylistic differences between the four style groupings. Gains in understanding of differentiation and the use of cognitive style in school were evident in all trainees. Moderate changes in style were evident, with all trainees becoming more intuitive over the course of the programme.

The sample size may be seen as a limitation in terms of generalisability.

The predominant direction of cognitive style movement was from analytic to intuitive. The suggestion that cognitive style, while relatively fixed, is also something that can be developed is a feature which should offer encouragement to those developing university courses through interventions such as this.

Teaching sessions on how cognitive styles can be used in the classroom were used to enhance trainee understandings of individual learning differences and increase awareness of one's own style to facilitate understanding of differentiation.

In the light of the growing emphasis on independent learning and non‐technical skills in education and employment, the study aims to examine the relevance of learning style to student self‐assessment skill.

A sample of first‐year undergraduate students was asked to provide self‐assessed marks for their coursework and to complete measures of learning style. Tutors' marks for student coursework were also gathered.

Results revealed a positive correlation between a deep approach to learning and self‐assessment skill, demonstrating the relevance of learning style to self‐assessment skill. A negative correlation between student‐estimated mark and a surface approach suggested that students are sensitive to the demand characteristics of assessments and are aware of how these correspond to their preferred learning style. Both strategic and deep approaches to learning correlated positively with tutor mark, as is commonly reported.

It is suggested that the study provides some insight into the composition of self‐assessment skill and implications for pedagogical practice are considered.

This paper aims to look at some of the evidence that supports the construct of resilience and the operationalisation of the “phenomena” of resilience within contemporary society. The concept of resilience has become an influential and society-wide construct, embraced by the positive psychology movement and impacting on educational, health and social policy significantly and demonstrably. Importantly, the concept of resilience has a substantial historical heritage and legacy and the permeation of the construct within the collective social consciousness is rarely considered or queried, but generally accepted and embraced. Moreover, the construct of resilience within itself is invariably couched within contemporary discourse as a universal good and highly desirable attribute and further still, considered by many as a fundamental component contributing to the fabric of an individual’s character.

The design of this paper is a short review of selective evidence of key conceptual issues.

Resilience as a concept, is defuse, generally ill-defined and highly subjective. The concept of resilience, though popular and intrinsic to a number of aspects of public and educational policy, remains controversial, provides an explanatory account of differential outcomes which may not always be positive and, importantly, may potentially disenfranchise the individual.

The synthesis of the brief and selective appraisal of evidence in this area suggests that the concept of resilience, if it exists at all, is highly mercurial, ambiguous in definition and despite its omnipresence as a representation of a positive and internalised attribution to the individual, has a significant negative side which is seldom considered. Querying the concept of resilience against the overwhelming backdrop of positive belief and opinion regarding the concept may represent a social heresy, however, the balance of evidence would suggest a debate about the concept is long overdue and, moreover, the concept itself provides a useful fulcrum to consider where beliefs, attitudes and opinions about abstract concepts stop and science, evidence and fact-based reflection begin.

The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a resilience curriculum in early years and primary schools to enhance social inclusion, equity and social justice amongst European communities, particularly amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable ones, through quality education. It defines educational resilience in terms of academic, social and emotional growth in the face of life challenges; discusses the conceptual framework and key principles underpinning the curriculum; and presents the six major content areas of the curriculum. Finally, it presents the preliminary findings of a pilot project on the implementation of the curriculum in more than 200 classrooms in about 80 early and primary schools in six European countries.

The curriculum was first drafted collaboratively amongst the six partners on the basis of the existing literature in the promotion of resilience in early years and primary schools, with a particular focus to European realities. Once it was internally reviewed, it was piloted in 200 early years and primary school classrooms in six European countries, with each of the six partners implementing one theme. Data collection included teacher reflective diaries, classroom checklists, semi-structured interviews with teachers and focus groups with students.

The preliminary results from the pilot evaluation of the curriculum in 199 classrooms totalling 1,935 students across six countries indicate that both the teachers and the learners overwhelmingly found the curriculum highly enjoyable, useful, relevant and easy to use. They looked forward to the possibility of having the programme on a full-time basis as part of the general curriculum in the future. The teachers reported a positive moderate change in learners’ behaviour related to the theme implemented and argued that for the implementation to be effective, it needs to take place throughout the whole year. A number of modifications have been on the basis of the teachers’ and learners’ feedback.

This is the first resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools in Europe. While it seeks to address the needs of vulnerable children such as Roma children, immigrant and refugee children and children with individual educational needs, it does so within an assets-based, developmental, inclusive and culturally responsive approach, thus avoiding potential labelling and stigmatising, while promoting positive development and growth. It puts the onus on the classroom teacher, in collaboration with parents and other stakeholders, in implementing the curriculum in the classroom.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of three different types of styles measure for students' learning in a large introductory university course in psychology, using information technology to enhance teaching. The paper examines the relationship between styles, the usage of learning technology, and academic performance in this course.

Styles are measured using approaches to learning, thinking styles, and cognitive styles. The usage of the online material is measured by considering both time spent on the resources and the amount of material viewed (pages and hits) as well as tools used.

The findings are that the academic performance of students who used the online resources is significantly higher than those who either choose to not use the online materials at all or choose to use to the materials to a lesser extent. It is determined that the measure of approaches to learning (approaches and study skills inventory for students) is the stronger predictor for successful use of the material.

Using a reasonably sized sample in an ecologically valid context offered the opportunity to put styles into context and to consider the practical use of styles. This research is limited by the context and the particular sample. It is also difficult to completely exclude the fact that students using the extra material are generally more motivated and would have obtained better grades even without the resources.

This paper offers further evidence for the relations between different measures of styles and evaluates the effects that styles might have on usage of online material and academic performance.

The purpose of this paper is to share the research on the use of service-learning pedagogy as a strategy to promote engaged learning that positively impacts resilience. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching and learning strategy, service-learning offers a viable method for supporting persistence and resiliency in largely minority population.

The research utilizes data from both quantitative and qualitative measures (surveys/questionnaires and open ended responses collected from focus groups). The data were collected over 15 months from undergraduate students who represent 5 different content areas (nursing, public health, psychology, nutrition and physical education).

The data revealed that students positively favor service-learning pedagogy and value the tenets of civic responsibility and social justice. These outcomes contribute to a positive impact on persistence and resiliency.

This research highlights the findings from a small group of students enrolled in a specialized program, therefore may lack generalizability. Future research should replicate the study on a larger scale.

This paper includes both theoretical foundational knowledge and practical applications to support faculty teaching and learning. Additionally, it seeks to support and increase understanding of strategies that positively impact persistence and resilience constructs.

The social implications of this research reflect an understanding of the inherent needs of students from underrepresented and/or underserved populations.

This paper fills a void in the literature at the higher education level, by offering specific strategies, which focus on methods to support resilience through increased student engagement, civic responsibility and critical thinking. Additionally, historically black colleges and universities are among the least empirically examined institutions in American higher education.