E-LEARNING STYLES AS A PREDICTOR FOR ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISTANCE EDUCATION: A RELATIONAL RESEARCH WITH THE TEACHER CANDIDATES

Students’ attitudes towards distance education can be shaped by the compatibility of their learning styles with this new educational environment. The study aimed to investigate whether various variables and e-learning styles predict student’s attitudes towards distance education. The present research was conducted on 387 students enrolled in the education faculty of a state university in Turkiye. The Distance Education Attitude Scale and the E-Learning Styles Scale were used to gather information about participants’ gender, preferences for the type of education, monthly internet package, and purposes of internet use. This research is a type of relational research that determines the prediction of relationships between quantitative variables. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed in the research. Findings show that the preferred type of education, gender, visual-auditory learning style, and independent learning style predict the attitude toward distance education. In conclusion, this research sheds light on how student-centered distance education models can evolve in the process of digital transformation in education.