While individuals may prefer, and be able, to learn in very different ways, the evidence is far
from clear about whether or not there are gender differences in individually preferred learning
styles. This is because learning is not just about what individuals do. It is a social process in
which the fact that boys and girls have to negotiate gender relations may mean that their
personal preferences for learning styles take a back seat in relation to ‘doing’ boy and ‘doing’
girl. What appear to be clear-cut gender differences in preferences for ways of learning (e.g.
boys’ preferences for using technology) have to be seen as produced, or at least sustained,
within gender relations. This point is perhaps clearer in debates on social class and learning
styles. In the 1970s Basil Bernstein argued that middle-class and working-class pupils had
different linguistic codes (‘elaborated’ and ‘restricted’ respectively). While this idea was hotly
debated, there is general agreement that, in comparison with the working-classes, the
privileges
enjoyed by the middle classes mean that they have more ‘cultural capital’ and that
this smooths the learning process. It could not be said, however, that the learning styles
associated with social class are to do with individual preferences.