I have about 700 hours Instructing in the PA38 and about 300 in cessna types.
Go for the school who has the instructor you get on with. That will have a far great effect than a different plane type.
Persoanlly I prefered teaching in the PA38 for various reasons.
Mostly to do with the fact you don't have to sit on each others knee and even with 2 big blokes on board your shoulders won't be touching. And with female students you don't invade there personal space.
You can adjust the PA38 seat forward and back.
It is a responsive fun aircraft to learn in. And you will have no problems at all converting to other similar small types.
The down side to it as a trainer is.
1. It has the most awful trimmer ever invented a real pain in the tits if it starts slipping.
2. The amount of rumour ****e which is spread about it which most issues were resolved before the mark 2 went into production.
It is safe spinning if you follow the POH
The tail won't fall off.
The tail does wobble about, its meant to.
The banging down the back is the ****ty spring that pretends to be a trimmer banging off the skin. They all do it.
Its a bitch in the stall. Its not if you smoothly bring it into the stall controlling it with the rudders, it stalls like any other aircraft. It gives a nice positive buffet and a definate stall which the wing drop can be controlled by the rudders. If your heavy handed it will wing drop. But even if the wing drops to 80-90 degrees down you can pick it back up with the rudder.
BUt saying that there is nothing wrong with learning in a C152.
If your small and so is your instructor most of the plus points have been negated.
MJ