Making Predictions of the Academic Achievement of the Students of Imam Ali Military University Based on Thinking Styles

This study was an attempt to predict the academic achievement of the students of Imam Ali Military University students based on thinking styles. For this purpose and also in an attempt to assess the thinking styles, the study was conducted through administering Sternberg and Wagner thinking styles questionnaire among a sample of 705 students affiliated to the Imam Ali Military University who were selected based on stratified random sampling method. To conduct this study, in terms of making measurement of the students’ academic achievement, data collection procedures were run through utilizing correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression methods. The findings revealed that in terms of thinking styles including hierarchical, global, external, legislative, and judicial, there is a significant positive relationship among thinking styles, type I thinking styles and the students’ academic achievement. Meanwhile, there is a significant negative relationship between internal thinking styles and students’ academic achievement. Furthermore, the findings of stepwise regression analysis revealed that the correlation coefficient of multiple regression between thinking styles and students’ academic achievement releasing 0.19. Moreover, in terms of academic achievement variance, the thinking styles including legislative (type I), local (type II) and external (type III) releasing 3.7% of academic achievement variance. The findings of data analysis of freshman and sophomore also revealed that the correlation coefficient of multiple regressions between thinking styles and students’ academic achievement releasing 0.29 and 0.28 respectively. Moreover, in terms of the academic achievement variance of freshman and sophomore, the thinking styles including global and hierarchical releasing 8.2% and external thinking style releasing 7.4% respectively. Meanwhile in juniors, there was no significant relationship between thinking styles and academic achievement.