Examining the Relationship between Prospective Preschool Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Science Education and Learning Styles

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the levels of prospective preschool teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in science education and learning styles. In this study, the correlational survey model was used. The sample of the research was composed of 193 (165 females, 28 males) prospective pre-school teachers studying in their first, second, third, and fourth year in a faculty of education of a state university located in the Black Sea in Turkey. Data were collected using the ‘Science Education Self-Efficacy Belief Scale’ developed by Riggs and Enochs (1990) and adapted into Turkish by Özkan et al. (2002) and ‘Kolb Learning Style Inventory’ developed by Kolb (1984) and adapted into Turkish by Evin Gencel (2007) in the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the statistical calculations of the data in the study. As a result of the study, it was determined that these prospective pre-school teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in science education were very high while their personal self-efficacy beliefs and result expectation sub-dimensions were at a high level. In addition, there is no statistically significant difference between prospective teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in science education, personal self-efficacy perception, and result expectation according to their learning styles. Based on the results obtained, to increase the success of prospective teachers in science and achieve desired goals in education, learning environments should be designed according to learning styles, and studies should be conducted to increase the quality of science education by making use of self-efficacy beliefs.

Keywords

• learning styles
• preschool education
• preschool science education
• self-efficacy belief