Within Teacher Belief
Why new teachers still inherit learning styles
Belief in learning styles appears high among both qualified teachers and people still entering the profession.
On this page
- What the 2020 review found among qualified teachers
- Why pre service belief matters for teacher education
- What the pattern says about professional culture
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Introduction
One of the most striking findings from research on learning styles is not simply that belief remains widespread among teachers, but that it is almost as common among people who have not yet entered the profession. Evidence from surveys suggests that the learning-styles myth is transmitted across generations of educators rather than fading with time. New teachers are often arriving in schools already convinced that pupils learn best when teaching is matched to a preferred style, even though reviews of the research literature have found little support for that claim. This pattern matters because it suggests that belief is embedded not only in classroom practice but also in the culture and training environments that shape future teachers.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
What the 2020 review found among qualified teachers
The clearest comparison comes from the 2020 systematic review by Phil Newton and Atharva Salvi, which examined 37 studies involving more than 15,000 educators across 18 countries. The review found exceptionally high levels of belief in learning styles overall, but it also compared qualified teachers with pre-service teachersthose still completing teacher education programmes.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
The results showed:
- Qualified teachers: 87.8% weighted belief rate.
- Pre-service teachers: 95.4% weighted belief rate.
- No statistically significant difference between the two groups.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
These figures challenge a common assumption that learning styles survive mainly because experienced teachers continue to pass on outdated ideas. Instead, belief appears to be present before many teachers begin full-time classroom work. If anything, the review found slightly higher endorsement among trainees, although the difference was not large enough to demonstrate a meaningful gap.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
This finding is important because it suggests that the persistence of learning styles cannot be explained simply by professional inertia or resistance to change among veteran educators. The belief is already established among many entrants to the profession.
Why pre-service belief matters for teacher education
When a misconception is already widespread among trainee teachers, schools alone cannot be expected to correct it. Teacher education programmes become a crucial point of intervention.
Research on educational neuromyths has repeatedly found that prospective teachers often enter training with strong beliefs about learning styles and other brain-based misconceptions. Reviews of the neuromyth literature note that these beliefs have been documented among both practising and prospective teachers for more than two decades.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
The concern is not merely that trainees hold an inaccurate belief. Rather, learning styles are often presented as consistent with values that teacher education rightly promotes:
- recognising individual differences;
- adapting instruction to learners;
- supporting inclusion;
- avoiding one-size-fits-all teaching.
Because the learning-styles idea appears to align with these goals, it can feel intuitively correct even when the underlying evidence is weak. Researchers have argued that many educators endorse the concept because it seems to offer a practical way to personalise learning, not because they have closely examined the experimental literature.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
This helps explain why the belief can survive the transition from university coursework into professional practice. The idea fits existing educational values and therefore requires active examination rather than simple exposure to research findings.
Training can reduce belief, but not automatically
The 2020 review identified several studies that explicitly taught participants about the lack of evidence for matching instruction to learning styles. Across those interventions, belief dropped substantially after training.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
That result suggests teacher education can make a difference. However, the existence of very high belief rates among trainees shows that exposure to higher education alone does not automatically eliminate the misconception. What appears to matter is whether programmes directly address the claim, examine the evidence and distinguish learning preferences from the stronger “matching” hypothesis.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
Why new teachers still inherit learning styles
The persistence of learning-styles belief among newcomers points to several overlapping mechanisms.
First, many trainee teachers encounter the concept long before entering teacher education. Popular books, professional development materials, school placements and online teaching resources frequently present visual, auditory and kinaesthetic categories as established educational knowledge. By the time formal training begins, the idea may already feel familiar and self-evident.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
Second, the term “learning styles” is often used ambiguously. Research has shown that educators may interpret it in different ways. Some understand it as a claim about matching instruction to learner types, while others hear it simply as encouragement to use varied teaching methods. This ambiguity makes survey responses difficult to interpret and may help explain why endorsement remains high.[Springer]link.springer.comThe learning styles neuromyth: when the same term means…by M Papadatou-Pastou 2021 Cited by 138 A study into neuromyths…
Third, teacher trainees frequently observe experienced practitioners during placements. If learning-styles language remains common in schools, new teachers may see it modelled as accepted professional practice regardless of what the research literature says. This creates a feedback loop in which beliefs are reproduced across cohorts.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
What the pattern says about professional culture
The absence of a meaningful belief gap between qualified and trainee teachers suggests that learning styles are best understood as a cultural phenomenon within education rather than merely an individual misunderstanding.
If experienced teachers strongly believed in learning styles while trainees largely rejected them, the myth might be expected to decline naturally as new generations entered the profession. The survey evidence does not show that pattern. Instead, high endorsement appears at both ends of the career pipeline.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
This continuity helps explain why learning styles have proved unusually resilient. The belief is reinforced during entry into teaching, remains visible in professional discourse and often aligns with broader commitments to differentiation and learner-centred education. As a result, it can persist even when educators are otherwise well informed and supportive of evidence-based practice.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
For understanding myths and misconceptions in education, the key lesson is that learning styles are not simply an old idea waiting to disappear with retirement and generational change. Survey evidence indicates that many new teachers inherit the belief before they become teachers, helping to sustain it across successive generations of the profession.[Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersHow Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth…by PM Newton 2020 Cited by 205 Self-reported belief in matching i…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: frontiersin.org
Link:https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.602451/full
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FrontiersWhy educators endorse a neuromyth: relationships among...by C Bresnahan 2024 Cited by 8 Why educators endorse a neuromyth...
4.
Source: link.springer.com
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The learning styles neuromyth: when the same term means...by M Papadatou-Pastou 2021 Cited by 138 A study into neuromyths...
5.
Source: frontiersin.org
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FrontiersThe Learning Styles Educational Neuromyth: Lack of...by M Papadatou-Pastou 2018 Cited by 75 Studies have shown that they...
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Source: frontiersin.org
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FrontiersDispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience...by K Macdonald 2017 Cited by 455 These findings suggest that...
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Source: frontiersin.org
Link:https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1147498/full
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The persistence of matching teaching and learning stylesby SBRE Brown 2023 Cited by 35 The studies that have been reviewed here, ha...
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Source: frontiersin.org
Title: Is it really a neuromyth?
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A meta-analysis of the learning...by V Clinton-Lisell 2024 Cited by 22 The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of...
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Source: frontiersin.org
Title: Learning Styles | List of Frontiers open access articles Systematic Review
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Published on 14 Dec 2020. How Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth, and Does It Matter? A Pragmatic Systematic Review. in...
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Additional References
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Source: educationalneuroscience.org.uk
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Children have different learning stylesAlthough as many as 71 different learning style schemes have been proposed[i], most typically lear...
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Educational Neuroscience and Teacher PracticesFoundational systematic reviews of neuromyth prevalence reveal that misconceptions endure a...
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Source: educationalneuroscience.org.uk
Title: scientists argue teachers must ditch neuromyth of learning styles
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Scientists argue teachers must ditch 'neuromyth' of...20 Mar 2017 The letter continues: The brain is essential for learning, but lea...
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Source: my.chartered.college
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chartered.collegeTeachers' understanding of neuromyths: A role for...20 Sept 2022 The current study aimed to understand the degree to...
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Source: cronfa.swan.ac.uk
Title: A Pragmatic Systematic Review; evidence-based education, pragmatism, neuromyth,
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by S Dekker 2012 Cited by 1248 Results showed that on average, teachers believed 49% of the neuromyths, particularly myths relat...
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Teachers must ditch 'neuromyth' of learning styles, say...12 Mar 2017 Teaching children according to their individual learning style...
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Source: my.chartered.college
Title: neuromyths about special educational needs what should teachers know
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about Special Educational Needs20 Sept 2022 Some of the most common neuromyths include the beliefs that humans only use 10 per cent of...
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Source: cronfa.swansea.ac.uk
Link:https://cronfa.swansea.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55948/Details
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A Pragmatic Systematic Review. Phil Newton Orcid Logo, Atharva Salvi. Frontiers in...Read more...
21.
Source: cis.org.au
Title: knowledge is power what do teachers believe about learning
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Knowledge is power: What do teachers believe about...by T Jha A systematic review of the LS myth from 2020... Learning styles and ped...
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