Academic motivation types and learning styles of students in a faculty of education

Abstract

This paper aimed to report the results of a descriptive correlational study that examined the relationship between academic motivation and learning styles of pre-service teachers. The study’s participants were 574 pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education, University of Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat. Two research instruments (Academic Motivation Scale and Learning Styles Inventory) were used for collecting the data. Keeping the aim in mind, three hypotheses were formulated and the pearson’s chi-square test was run in SPSS so as to test the possible relationships in the hypotheses. According to the analysis of the data, the first hypothesis was confirmed while the second and third hypotheses were rejected. Thus, the dominant academic motivation type of converger and accommodator pre-service teachers was external regulation while the preservice teachers with assimilating learning styles were more likely to have knowing motivation. Besides, diverger pre-service teachers preferred either “knowing” or “external regulation” academic motivation type. Last, departments of the pre-service teachers did not determine their academic motivation types and learning styles.