Approach to study as an indicator of the quality of teaching and of learning environment: the contribution of John Biggs

This review investigates the contribution of John Biggs in playing an important role within learning research and educational system quality. Schools and Universities have gradually structured their policies on the bases of their students’ perceptions, satisfaction, and needs. The interest in the measurement of student’s study strategies and perceptions is the result of the needs for educational institutions to demonstrate their effectiveness in teaching. Biggs’s model conceptualizes the learning process as an interactive system of three sets of variable: the learning environment and student characteristics, students’ approach to learning, and learning outcomes. By exploring findings from educational studies, the review seeks to examine the evolution of Biggs’s learning model and his contribution to understand individual, interpersonal and contextual factors that determine effectiveness of learning.