THE EFFECT OF PREDOMINANT THINKING STYLES ON SOFT SKILLS AMONG MALAYSIAN ACCOUNTING STUDENTS

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effect of predominant thinking styles on soft skills among Malaysian accounting student. The thinking styles consist of legislative, executive, judicial, internal and external while soft skills comprise of communication skills and critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The sample for this study is 306 undergraduate accounting students who will be selected randomly from University Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. The instruments that will be used in this study are Sternberg Thinking Styles Inventory to measure students’ predominant thinking styles and Malaysian Soft Skills Scale (My3S) instrument were used to assess the graduates’ soft skill attainment level. The data will be analyzed using SPSS software. An analysis of Pearson’s Correlation (PC) and Multiple Linear Regressions will be performed to achieve the objectives of this study. It is expected that this study will contribute to educational development by providing an understanding of predominant thinking styles. This study also beneficial for future student employability as soft skills is an important niche in employment requirement.