Cognitive Style and Academic Achievement among School Students

Cognitive Style and Academic Achievement among School Students

The aim of the present study was to explore cognitive style and academic achievement among school students using a quantitative approach. The study involved a total of 423 students from grade VIth and VIIth. Students from both private and government schools participated in the study. The study used group embedded figures test by Witkin et al. (1971) and classroom achievement test by Singh & Gupta (2007) to determine the participants field independent and dependent cognitive styles and academic achievement. T test was used to compare the academic achievement of field independent ?? field dependent cognitive style students. Whereas, two-way Anova test was done to analysis the interaction effect of grades, gender, and type of school along with cognitive style on academic achievement of students. The findings of the present research showed that there was a significant difference between field independent and dependent students' on academic achievement. It also revealed that students with field independent cognitive style performed significantly better than field dependent students. However grades had a significant main effect on academic achievement of students. There was no interaction effect found between grades and cognitive style on academic achievement of students. In addition, it was also found that there was no interaction effect of type of school and cognitive style on academic achievement of students. The findings of the study benefits teachers by indicating significant classroom implications which will help them to develop effective learning materials and strategies which are suitable for their student in order to utilize their cognitive style strength effectively. It helps students in making effective decisions regarding ones enrolment in higher education courses and career choices. Key Words: Field Independent-Dependent Cognitive Style, Academic Achievement, Grades, Gender and Type of School.

Mundra Priyanka

Department of Psychology