Factors that influence learning

Health
Bad health can have a negative impact on a person’s learning. If a person is unwell they are unable to attend school, college or courses. For example, if a person has the flu, they could be unwell for two weeks. In those two weeks they could miss a substantial amount of learning time, leaving them behind with work & unable to move on with their learning at the same pace as their peers. Employment

If a person is employed it can have a negative effect on their learning as well as a positive effect.

For example; If a 6th form student is studying 4 A-levels and has a part-time job, they will barely have any free time. Resulting in them getting behind with work, not meeting deadlines. This can result in an extreme amount of stress. This is a negative effect on learning. Employment can also have a positive effect on learning, for example, if a person has a job they are going to be learning new skills in the work place.

Access to a study centre

Having or not having access to a study centre can affect a person’s learning. If a person has access to a study centre they will be able to learn more effectively, and complete work, revise and meet deadlines. Meaning they will be have a good learning experience. Although if a person is unable to access a study centre because of circumstances such as low income, they will be unable to learn effectively, complete work, revise or meet deadlines etc…

This means that they will fall behind with work and may not be able to achieve the things they would like to. Time

Time can be a very huge factor that can influence a person’s learning. For example; if a person doesn’t have much free time they wouldn’t be able to achieve as much as they could if they had enough time to complete work, study and revise. Not having enough time can have a huge negative effect on a person’s learning.

Also if a person has a lot of time to study etc… they stand a better chance of achieving greater things, such as a person having a lot of time to revise for their A-level exams stand a better chance of progressing onto university because they are more than likely to achieve better grades than someone who struggles to find time. Specific learning needs

If a person has specific learning needs such as dyslexia, and they are unable to access the resources they need such as extra support and coloured overlays, they will find it difficult to learn and may have an un-enjoyable learning experience. This will result in a negative learning experience. Funding for study

Funding for study can have huge implications on a person’s learning experience. For example, if a student that is planning to go to university is unable to obtain the funding needed for the course they wish to do, they may be unable to do the course they require for their dream job.

Resulting in a negative learning experience. Although if a person is able to get funding for a course at university, they will be able to study the degree they want and will be able to go onto do the job they may have always wanted. However receiving funding could in the long run have a negative effect, because the student maybe worrying about having to pay the grant back. Aspirations

Having aspirations can have a positive effect on a person’s learning. This is because they may study harder in hope of achieving their aspirations. For example, a person who wishes to become a doctor later on will concentrate a lot harder than someone who doesn’t know what they want to do later in life, because the person who aspires to be a doctor will know how hard they have to work to achieve the things needed to pursue such career. Learning styles

Learning styles have an impact on a person’s learning experience. For example; If a person is a someone that learns by doing practical tasks and getting hands on, is stuck in a lecture just being dictated they aren’t going to have an enjoyable learning experience and are just going to switch off and not take in any information they are being told because they are bored, resulting in a negative learning experience. Motivation

Motivation has an impact on learning experiences. For example; If a student has no motivation to do well, they will more than likely not bother doing any revision or pay attention in class, resulting in bad grades and the inability to move on to higher education or a job because they have been unable to achieve the necessary requirements to do so, resulting in a negative learning experience.