THE ROLE OF LEARNING STYLES IN DETERMINING CAREER MAKING CHOICES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

This paper examined how the learning styles could be used to predict career indecisiveness in university students. Hypotheses proposed were: (1) The learning styles would have a significant influence on career indecisiveness among the university students; (2) Female students would report high levels of career indecisiveness compared to the males; and (3) The first-year students would exhibit higher levels of career indecisiveness compared to the final-year students. The total sample of 400 students (N = 236 first-year; N = 164 final-year), 111 males and 289 females aged between 18 and 32 years (M = 21.16, SD = 2.79) were recruited and selected within the University of Karachi and as a part of various departments. The participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, a Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory 3.1 (1971), and an instrument, the Career Decision Scale (1989). The analysis of data was conducted on the version 21 of the SPSS. The findings indicated that learning styles had a significant predictability with career indecisiveness. First-year students had a considerably high score on career indecisiveness as compared to their final year student counterparts. The results indicate that the dimensions of learning style differ according to sex and academic level, which affects the process of career decision making of students. The discussion of implications and suggestions to the academic supporting and career counseling interventions are provided.