Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Vol. 34 - Article 5 - The Effect of a ‘Learning Theories’ Unit on Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning

Oct 15, 2026

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Continuous learning supports cognitive, professional, academic growth and improves quality of life. Because teachers must develop learners’ ability to learn, this study investigates how teacher candidates’ knowledge of learning theories shapes their attitudes toward learning. A pre-test and post-test using an attitudes-to-learning scale were administered after introducing learning theories to students. Data from 150 participants were analyzed in SPSS 15.0 using t-tests and correlation tests.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Learning theories and the attitude of teacher candidates

Definitions and perspectives on learning

Method

Participants and procedure

Measurement and statistical analysis

Results

Relationships between understanding and attitudes

Discussion

Australian Journal of Teacher Education Volume 34 | Issue 3 Article 5 2009 The Effect of a ‘Learning Theories’ Unit on Students’Attitudes Toward Learning Ahmet Kara Adiyaman University Recommended Citation Kara, Ahmet (2010) "The Effect of a ‘Learning Theories’ Unit on Students’Attitudes Toward Learning,"Australian Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 34: Iss. 3, Article 5. Available at: [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/5](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/5) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/5](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/5) Australian Journal of Teacher Education The Effect of a‘Learning Theories’Unit on Students’Attitudes Toward Learning Ahmet Kara Adıyaman University Turkey [akara44@gmail.com](akara44@gmail.com) Abstract: People can improve themselves cognitively, professionally, academically, and in terms of their quality of life by continuous learning. Teachers, who are charged with bringing up new members of society, have to be aware of the importance of developing the ability to learn. This study examined how their knowledge of learning theories affected the attitudes of teacher candidates toward learning. For this purpose, students were given a scale of attitudes toward learning, as a pre-test and a post-test after introduction to the subject of learning theories. Data obtained from 150 participants were processed in SPSS 15.0; paired samples t-tests, independents samples t-tests and correlation tests were conducted. The results suggested that individuals with better understandings of the learning process are better at perceiving the nature of learning, more open to learning, have higher expectations about what they will get from learning and exhibit less anxiety in relation to learning. Keywords: Attitudes towards learning, Learning theories, Faculty of education, Anxiety about learning, Educational Psychology Course Introduction In his serial novel White Fang (1906), Jack London depicts a wolf cub, with the newlyacquired ability to see, discovering the light gleaming at the entrance to the cave in which it lives. The author claims that the instinctive behaviour of the cub is really curiosity and a desire to learn, an instinct that one finds in all animals. Most human behaviours, such as walking, speaking, reading, writing, dressing and playing, are at least in part products of learning (Ulusoy, 2007) . In this process, which starts from birth and ends in death, humans learn something new each day. From this point of view, teaching is one of the essential professions for survival of society. While teachers help provisional society members to acquire the knowledge, skills and values of society, the attitudes of those individuals toward learning these things constitute one of the most important subject among the knowledge and skills acquired in a faculty of education. In preparing to practise their vocation, teacher candidates have to know theoretical basis of‘learning’ and one of the main aims ofthe present research was to investigate their attitudes toward learning. Positive attitudes will ensure that they acquire lifelong learning skills. And an individual with positive attitudes toward any subject concentrates on it, is interested in it and takes all the actions necessary to succeed in learning about it (Başaran, 1974; Kılıççı, 1992) . Thus, a favourable achievement in learning is to be expected (Kara, 2003) . Learning can be defined as acquiring an ability to do an act or to take part in an event, which previously could not be done, at the end of a certain activity. Öncül (2000) considers learning Vol 34, 1, June 2009 100 Australian Journal of Teacher Education as an event firstly, and defines it as a ‘process or reaction as change in behaviour partly or totally as a result of experience’. He also considers learning as an outcome, and explains it as a newly-acquired

FAQs

What was the study’s main objective?

To examine how teacher candidates’ knowledge of learning theories affected their attitudes toward learning.

How were students’ attitudes toward learning measured?

Using an attitudes-to-learning scale as a pre-test and a post-test after introducing the subject of learning theories.

What statistical methods were used to analyze the data?

SPSS 15.0 was used with paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, and correlation tests.

What did the results suggest about students with better understanding?

Individuals who better understood the learning process perceived learning more accurately, were more open to learning, had higher expectations, and showed less anxiety related to learning.

Oct 15, 2026

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