The Role of Student's Gender and Preferred Teaching Style in Predicting Student Academic Engagement in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Identifying students’ preferred teaching styles and matching teaching methods to these preferences by faculty members can improve effectiveness and increase student engagement. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the role of students’ gender and preferred teaching style in predicting student academic engagement in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. This descriptive-correlational study was performed on students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected through Stratified sampling method. Data were collected through preferred teaching style questionnaire and academic engagement questionnaire. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. Students’ preferred teaching style can predict their academic engagement (f(497,2)=41.54, p<0.01). Also, no significant relationship was found between teacher-centered preferred teaching style and academic engagement. Comparing Students` Preferred Teaching Style and Academic Engagement based on gender revealed that female students preferred student-centered teaching style while male students preferred the teacher-centered one. Also, the level of female students` academic engagement was higher than male students. According to the importance of academic engagement, it is suggested that more research should be done in order to identify factors contributing to the enhancement of medical students’ academic engagement.