This study examined the learning styles of postsecondary and secondary students in selected institutions throughout South Carolina. The sample included over 2,000 college and university students and over 6,000 high school students. The five-phased research program examined: (1) the learning styles of first-year college students; (2) the learning styles of majors in various disciplines and the association of learning styles with parents' educational level, family size, community, and college or university; (3) the relationship between retention and learning style; (4) the learning styles of high school students, including a comparison of secondary and postsecondary learning styles; and (5) learning styles in relation to gender and race. The study found that first-year college students preferred social and conceptual styles of learning to other styles, and that students with applied styles performed better in school and scored higher on standardized tests than did students with other styles. It also found that mathematics majors selected the applied category most often, whereas majors in humanities, social sciences, education, and business selected the conceptual category most frequently. Other significant results are discussed. Two appendixes provide copies of the student survey questionnaires and statistical tables. (Contains 91 references.) (MDM)