Personality, learning strategies, and academic performance

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between personality traits, learning strategies and academic performance among undergraduate students in the post-Soviet transition country of Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach -The authors used a quantitative survey method to assess individual personality, learning strategies and academic motivations. Statistical software (SPSS) was used to conduct correlations, linear regressions and multiple regressions as a means of testing the hypotheses and making inferences. Findings -The results suggest that students with different personality characteristics have different motivations and priorities in their pursuit of university degrees. However, some of these differences seem to be related to their fields of academic study and biographical backgrounds. Practical implications -The research emphasises the importance of managing individuals by focusing on their individual differences in learning strategies, rather than by relying on the personality stereotypes that existing literature suggests are prevalent. Originality/value -The findings will help educators take appropriate measures in selecting learning strategies that suit the different personality types of students, and will encourage and assist them in improving their academic performance. As this type of research has never been carried out in post-Soviet CIS countries, dissemination of the study's findings will immensely benefit students and educators in the region.

English Oral Communication in Public Secondary Schools in Kazakhstan: Understanding its Practice and Challenges

“…This resonates with the study of Moldasheva & Mahmood (2014), who revealed that collaborative learning is not usually practised among undergraduate students in Kazakhstan. It can be attributed to the sense of competition among the learners to achieve higher marks.…”

Effectiveness of Read-aloud Instruction on Motivation and Learning Strategy among Japanese College EFL Students

“…Many studies have been conducted to establish the relationship between ESL/EFL learning strategies, and the wide range of variables found in learners such as age or school year (e.g., Griffiths, 2003;Oxford & Ehrman, 1995;Riazi, 2007;Srisupha, 2012), English proficiency (e.g., Baker & Boonkit, 2004;Ghafournia, 2014;Murray, 2010), cultural background (e.g., Alhaisoni, 2012;Lengkanawati, 2004), motivation (e.g., Oxford & Nyikos, 1989), and personality traits (e.g., Kaufman et al, 2008;Moldasheva & Mahmood, 2014). Previous studies also found that more successful ESL/EFL learners tend to make more frequent use of learning strategies overall (e.g., Ghani, Mahfuz, Saad, & Yusoff, 2014;Akbari, 2003, Green & Oxford, 1995Murray, 2010;Wharton, 2000).…”

Análisis De Las Propiedades Psicométricas Del Inventario De Estrategias De Aprendizaje Y Estudio (Lassi) en Estudiantes Universitarios

“…Por otra parte se ha resaltado la relación entre la puesta en juego de determinadas estrategias y ciertas variables psicológicas, tales como rasgos de personalidad, motivación, ansiedad y flow, así como autorregulación afectiva, conductual y cognitiva, entre otras (Ben Eliyahu & Linnenbrink Garcia, 2015;Doménech Betoret, Gómez Artiga, & Lloret Segura, 2014;Kesici, Baloglu, & Deniz, 2011;Lee & Choi, 2013;Moldasheva & Mahmood, 2014;Sullivan, Eduljee, & Pinkham, 2012).…”