An Investigation of the Correlation Between Academic Success, Self-Confidence, and Educational Environment According to the Learning Styles of Physiotherapy Students

Aylin Aydoğdu, Hümeyra Kiloatar, Onur Turan, Filiz Can, Görkem Açar
Purpose:

The aim of this study was to examine the academic success, academic self-confidence, and learning environments of undergraduate physiotherapy and rehabilitation students according to their different learning style preferences.

Methods:

180 undergraduate physiotherapy and rehabilitation students were included in the study. Individuals' learning style preferences were evaluated with the Kolb Learning Style Inventory-3 (KLSI-3), their learning environment was evaluated with the DREEM (The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure) survey, and their self-confidence was evaluated with the Academic Self-Confidence Scale. Individuals' academic achievements were evaluated through their GPA.

Results:

Individuals who preferred different learning styles had similar academic self-confidence (p>0.05). Individuals who preferred different learning styles had statistically different perceptions of the learning environment (p0.05). The DREEM score of students who preferred the assimilating learning style was found to be lower than that of individuals who preferred the converging and accommodating learning style (p0.05). The academic achievements of individuals who preferred different learning styles were found to be statistically different (p0.05).

Conclusion(s):

Learning environments designed to suit individuals who prefer different learning styles in physiotherapy and rehabilitation education can have a positive impact on students' academic success. Physiotherapy and rehabilitation education, which is practice-based and carried out through a master-apprentice relationship, is a program open to the organization of different learning environments with current technological developments.

Implications:

The results of this study show that it is necessary for educator physiotherapists who are involved in theoretical, practical and clinical student education processes to actively involve students in the learning process, that learning preferences and students' perceptions of the educational environment shape the learning process and that students' self-confidence is also an important factor in this process. It also emphasizes the necessity of considering these factors as a whole rather than separately, and underlines that this is important for a quality education.

Funding acknowledgements:
This study has no funding resources.
Keywords:
physiotherapy education
learning styles
academic success
Primary topic:
Education
Second topic:
Education: methods of teaching and learning
Did this work require ethics approval?:
Yes
Name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work:
Kutahya Health Sciences University Ethics Committee
Provide the ethics approval number:
2023/11-29
Has any of this material been/due to be published or presented at another national or international conference prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025?:
No

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