Background: Feelings or emotions and thinking have been identified as forces that may affect one’s learning styles (D. A.Kolb, 1984), emotional social intelligence, and success (R. Bar-On,2004). This study on the relationship between academic success and the two variables of learning abilities or styles and emotional social intelligence was conducted at two colleges of nursing in Saudi Arabia. Both offer conventional and accelerated undergrad-uate nursing education programs.
Purpose: This study was designed to explore the preferred learning abilities or styles of Saudi nursing students in conven-tional and accelerated programs, the difference in emotional social intelligence between the two, and the relationships be-tween academic success and learning styles and emotional social intelligence.
Methods: A convenience sample was recruited, consisting of a total of 98 students, 50 and 48 of whom were enrolled,respectively, in conventional and accelerated programs. Self-administered instruments including the Kolb learning style inventory and the Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i) were used to collect data, which were analyzed quantitatively.
Results: Both groups were found to favor a diverger style of learning, with total EQ-i scores showing no statistical difference between the two (t = 1.251, p = .214). ‘‘Self-regard’’ and ‘‘prob-lem solving’’ earned the highest EQ-i content subscale scores for both groups. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed no significant relationship between learning abilities or styles and emotional social intelligence and academic success.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that either no actual rela-tionship exists or that emotional social intelligence may be con-founded with factors such as professional and cultural values.