Learning Style Theory: Less Than Meets the Eye

The learning style theory and its associated learning style inventory, developed by Kolb, have received considerable attention in management education. Learning style theory holds that learning is a 4-stage process that includes concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. People are not likely to be equal in their emphasis in using each stage, and Kolb claims that people can be categorized along 2 bipolar dimensions of learning based on active-to-reflective and concrete-to-abstract orientations. The theory has been accepted and applied in management education by some researchers without adequate evaluation and validation. The value of these applications is contingent upon the validity of the theory, an issue that has been largely ignored. Examination of the empirical evidence supporting the theory shows covariances between many of the variables and learning style to be weak. Two independent samples produced similarly weak results. The test-retest reliability of the independent samples was found to be relatively low, indicating volatility in the learning style inventory. It is suggested that use of the theory as a basis for making normative judgments about educational practices should be suspended until the theory's problems are rectified.