Thinking Styles in Arab Research: An Analysis of the Studies in the Arab Educational Information Network (Shamaa)

Abstract

The study aimed to analyze the content of studies that dealt with "thinking styles" in the Arab Educational Information Network (Shamaa). The study used content-based analysis, and the sample covered (50) studies. A tool was developed for data collection. The study results revealed that there was a growth in studies of thinking styles, but this growth was fluctuating. Most of the studies (96%) were published in journals, (66%) were published by single researchers, (57.53%) of the publications were published by male researchers and (40%) of the studies were conducted in Saudi Arabia and Algeria. Furthermore, (34%) of the studies tackled the subject of thinking styles in general without other variables, (78%) focused on students, (44%) focused on the university level, (96%) of them used the descriptive method, (58%) made use of small samples, (66%) relied on Sternberg's Mental Self-Government and (48%) of them used Sternberg's Thinking Styles Inventory. The study concluded with stressing the need to codify standards in the local environment and to pay attention to cross-cultural studies.