Exploring the Relationship Between University Students’ Conceptions of and Approaches to Learning Mass Communication in Taiwan

Previous studies have revealed the close relationship between students’ conceptions of and approaches to learning. However, few studies have explored this relationship in the field of learning mass communication. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationships between students’ conceptions of learning mass communication (COLMC) and approaches to learning mass communication (ALMC). The two questionnaires were validated using a sample of 362 Taiwanese university students. Eight factors were derived from the COLMC questionnaire (“Memorizing,” “Aiming for examination,” “Video production,” “Integrated marketing communication,” “Increase of knowledge,” “Applying,” “Understanding,” and “Seeing in a new way”), and five factors were derived from the ALMC questionnaire (“Deep motive,” “Deep strategy,” “Surface motive,” “Surface strategy-narrow study target,” and “Surface strategy-rote learning”). Two newly developed factors, “Video production” and “Integrated marketing communication” were added to COLMC as unique features for mass communication students. The results indicated that these two questionnaires exhibited adequate reliability for assessing students’ conceptions of and approaches to learning mass communication. It was also found that the “Memorizing” and “Aiming for examination” factors in COLMC predicted students’ surface strategies in learning mass communication. In addition, students with conceptions of “Integrated marketing communication” tended to adopt deep motive for learning mass communication. In conclusion, this study revealed the relationships between students’ COLMC and ALMC in Taiwan. Furthermore, it may provide mass communication teachers with a better understanding of how students’ conceptions of learning relate to their approaches to learning mass communication.