The Study of Learning Styles, Thinking Styles, and English Language Academic Self-efficacy among the Students of Islamic Azad University of Behbahan Considering Their Field of Study and Gender

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper was the study of learning styles, thinking styles, and English language academic self-efficacy among the students of Islamic Azad University of Behbahan considering their field of study and gender. The method of the study was 'surveying' in nature. The statistical population pool of the study included all the students of the Islamic Azad University of Behbahan (7941). The sample (367 students) was determined based on Morgan and Jesri table and was selected via stratified sampling technique. To collect data, Kolb's learning styles questionnaire, Sternberg's thinking styles questionnaire and the researcher-made questionnaire on the English lesson academic self-efficacy of students were used. In order to analyze the data, different statistical techniques which included mean, standard deviation, t-test, and chi square were utilized for examining the difference between the variables of gender and field of study. The results showed that the engineering students had more academic self-efficacy than humanities students. The rate of academic self-efficacy among male students was greater than that among female students. Male students had more assimilate learning style but female students had more divergent learning style. Humanities students had more divergent accommodate learning styles, but engineering students had more convergent and assimilate learning styles. The results also showed that the prevailing thinking style among male students was the judicial thinking style, but the prevailing thinking style among female students was the executive thinking style. Humanities students had more executive thinking style, but engineering students had more legislative thinking style.