The relationship between Kolb learning styles with personality traits and academic performance of university students

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between Kolb’s learning styles، personality traits and academic performance among the university students. Method of research was correlation and the research population was consisted of 3145 students of Kermanshah Razi University. There were 320 students among them from different majors (196 female students and 124 male students) who were selected by using Krejcie and Morgan sample size table and by cluster random sampling method. Assessment tools were consisted of short form of NEO Personality Inventory and Kolb''s learning styles inventory. Students'' mean scores were used to measure academic performance. Data were analyzed by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis. The results showed that there were significant relationships between learning styles and personality traits of the students with academic performance and each of the learning styles of students with certain personality traits were associated (p < 0. 01 and p < 0. 05). Stepwise regression analysis showed that there were significant multiple correlation between personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness، and learning styles of abstract conceptualization and active experimentation with academic performance (p < 0. 01) and the most predictive variables for academic performance of students who were able to explain 28% of the variance in academic performance. These results would be discussed in more details in this paper.