Balancing academics and athletics: investigating the interrelationship of learning and communication styles among SUKMA student-athletes with a gender-based analysis / Nur Alya Natasha Mohd Nazeri and Radzliyana Radzuwan

Student-athletes face unique challenges in balancing academic and athletic responsibilities, requiring effective learning and communication strategies. Learning styles represent the varied approaches or methods individuals prefer for absorbing, processing, and retaining new information [1]. Some students are visual learners, while others are auditory or kinesthetic learners. Visual learners learn visually using charts, graphs, and pictures. Auditory learners learn by listening to lectures and reading. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing physical activity. Students can prefer one, two, or three learning styles [2]. Students who know their learning styles will be able to find out their weaknesses and strengths so they can design learning strategies and can evaluate ways of learning [3]. Understanding their learning styles can help improve their academic performance, while communication styles influence interactions in both educational and sports settings. This study investigates the preferred learning and communication styles of SUKMA student-athletes and examines the relationship between these variables. Additionally, it explores gender-based differences in learning preferences.