The relationship between learning styles and academic performance in TURKISH physiotherapy students

BACKGROUND: Learning style refers to the unique ways an individual processes and retains new information and skills. In this study, we aimed to identify the learning styles of Turkish physiotherapy students and investigate the relationship between academic performance and learning style subscale scores in order to determine whether the learning styles of physiotherapy students could influence academic performance. METHODS: The learning styles of 184 physiotherapy students were determined using the Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales. Cumulative grade point average was accepted as a measure of academic performance. The Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to compare academic performance among the six learning style groups (Independent, Dependent, Competitive, Collaborative, Avoidant, and Participant). RESULTS: The most common learning style was Collaborative (34.8%). Academic performance was negatively correlated with Avoidant score (p < 0.001, r = − 0.317) and positively correlated with Participant score (p < 0.001, r = 0.400). The academic performance of the Participant learning style group was significantly higher than that of all the other groups (p < 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Although Turkish physiotherapy students most commonly exhibited a Collaborative learning style, the Participant learning style was associated with significantly higher academic performance. Teaching strategies that encourage more participant-style learning may be effective in increasing academic performance among Turkish physiotherapy students.