Learning Styles and Critical Thinking Skills as Correlates of Academic Achievement among University Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-vi.298Keywords:
Critical Thinking Skills, Academic Achievement, Undergraduate Students, Higher Education, Pakistan, Learning StylesAbstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among learning styles, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement among undergraduate students in Pakistan. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational research design was employed. Data were collected from 300 undergraduate students (150 males and 150 females) enrolled at Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF) and the University of Education, Lahore (Faisalabad Campus). Two self-developed Likert-scale instruments were used: the 21-item Students’ Learning Styles Scale (SLSS; Cronbach’s α = .963) and the 21-item Critical Thinking Skills Scale (CTSS; Cronbach’s α = .942). Academic achievement was measured using students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and Pearson correlation analysis were performed using SPSS. The findings revealed that reading (M = 3.80, SD = 0.77) and Sequential (M = 3.73, SD = 0.79) learning styles were the most preferred among participants, whereas visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles were moderately preferred. Most students (76%) demonstrated good critical thinking skills, and 40.3% achieved a moderate level of academic performance. Female students scored significantly higher than male students on learning styles and critical thinking skills. Students from GCUF also reported significantly higher scores than their counterparts from the University of Education in learning styles and critical thinking skills. Reading Learning Style (RLS) showed the strongest significant positive correlation with Critical Thinking Skills, while Sequential Learning Style (SLS) demonstrated a moderate positive correlation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Muhammad Faisal Farid, Seema Sajid, Dr. Sabeen Qamar
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