The Association Between Learning Styles and Academic Achievement in Nursing Students: A Systematic Literature Review of Iranian Evidence

Background: Learning styles are an important factor influencing the learning process. Understanding these factors is essential for designing effective educational programs based on Curry’s onion ring model, particularly in Iranian nursing education where traditional teaching methods predominate. This study aimed to systematically review Iranian research on the relationship between nursing students’ learning styles and academic achievement to identify prevailing patterns, methodological gaps, and implications for education.Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) in Persian and English from January ۲۰۱۲ to October ۲۰۲۴ using the keywords “learning style,” “nursing,” and “student.” Inclusion criteria comprised observational studies on Iranian nursing students assessing learning styles and their relationship with academic achievement or demographic variables. Conference abstracts, dissertations, qualitative studies, interventional studies, and reviews were excluded. Quality was assessed using a Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Findings were synthesized and reported using a systematic literature review approach.Results: Of ۹۸۴ initially retrieved articles, ۲۳ observational studies involving a total of ۶,۸۴۷ Iranian nursing students met the inclusion criteria. The Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic) models were the most frequently used frameworks. In the Kolb’s model (used in ۱۶ studies), assimilator and convergent styles were the most prevalent. In the VARK model (used in ۷ studies), reading/writing was the dominant preference (n=۵ studies). Evidence on the association between learning styles and academic achievement remained contradictory (positive association reported in ۹ studies, no association in ۱۰ studies, and mixed results in ۴ studies).Conclusion: Iranian nursing students most commonly showed convergent and assimilator (Kolb) and reading/writing (VARK) learning styles, although evidence on their association with academic achievement was inconsistent. Given the methodological limitations of existing studies, nursing educators are encouraged to use diverse and blended teaching strategies to address the varied preferences of learners. Future research should focus on larger multi-center studies and evaluate the impact of learning-style–based instructional approaches on academic and clinical outcomes. Note: The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD۴۲۰۲۲۳۷۵۳۱۱); however, several deviations from the original protocol were made during the conduct of the study.

کلیدواژه ها:

education ، Learning ، Nursing ، Students ، Teaching ، Academic success