Abstract:

This study examines pre-service teachers’ learning styles and attitudes toward teaching profession, and determines the impact of learning styles on their attitudes toward teaching, by analyzing various factors including gender, teaching program, grade level, grade point average, and type of graduated high school. Participants were 1321 pre-service teachers, studying in a middle sized public university, located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Data were collected during the fall semester of 2013-2014 academic year, from nine teacher education programs. Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory and Attitude Scale towards the Profession of Teaching were used as data collection instruments. Results revealed that pre-service teachers mainly had converging and assimilating learning styles, and they showed positive attitudes towards teaching profession. The mean attitude score of convergers was significantly higher than divergers, and assimilators; while, the mean attitude score of accommodators was not significantly different from others. In addition, there were significant association between learning styles and gender, teaching program, grade level, and grade point average; however, no association between learning styles and type of high school graduated. Moreover, there were significant differences in pre-service teachers’ attitude scores considering their gender, teaching program, grade level, grade point average, and type of graduated high school.

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