The relation between prospective teachers and their parents learning styles

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between the learning styles of teacher candidates and those of their parents. Relational survey method has been employed to conduct the study. The target group contains 211 novice teachers studying at different teacher training departments of a Turkish university. The Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Inventory and Kolb Learning Style Inventory have been administered to the participants and to their parents. The participants were asked to administer these scales to their parents. Inventories detected to be incomplete were eliminated, and consequently only 33 families' responses have been evaluated. The parents with a degree from a middle school or above have participated in the study. The data obtained from Kolb Learning Style Inventory suggest that there is no relation between the learning styles of teacher candidates and those of their parents. However, the data set from Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Inventory displays a medium level relation between the learning styles of participating teacher candidates and that of their parents. Additionally, no statistically significant difference has been identified across the learning styles of participants in terms of their regional background and the educational background of their parents.