Learning Styles and Recruitment Exam Performance among Iranian Teaching Candidates

Voluminous research conducted by educational psychologists and teachers has indicated that learning processes vary from every individual to another due to the existence of diverse psychological and biological factors. Once teachers become aware of the fact that learners are dissimilar in learning, they feel inclined to determine students’ learning styles and accommodate their needs accordingly. This study aimed to investigate the existence of any possible correlation between learning styles and degree of success of applicants who attended a teacher recruitment test in Iran Language Institute. Participants of the study were classified into either failed-group or succeeded-group. To achieve the objective of the study, Ehrman and Leaver’s Questionnaire (2003) was administered to the participants. Then each participant was included in one of the two groups of ectenic or synoptic learners. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was calculated to find any significant relationship between participants’ scores in the teacher recruitment test and their scores as an ectenic L2 learner or a synoptic L2 learner. The obtained value of R was 0.77, which is statistically significant, and indicated that synoptic teaching candidates were significantly more successful than ectenic candidates in the teacher recruitment test. While synoptic scores were positively correlated with participants’ scores in teacher recruitment test, ectenic scores were negatively correlated with participants’ scores in the test. It is concluded that there is a significant correlation between learning styles and degree of success in the teacher recruitment test. And successful teaching candidates in Iran can be grouped synoptically.