Investigation of the relationship between thinking styles and mathematics achievement of 4th grade primary school students

This study investigates the relationship between thinking styles and mathematics achievement of primary school students utilizing quantitative research methods. In this study, the relational suvey model, one of the descriptive research methods, was used. The study sample consists of of 432 students selected voluntarily from 3 schools in the central district of Bolu province during the 2024-2025 academic year. The students were administered the Mathematics Achievement Test at different times, along with the Thinking Styles Scale (legislator, executive and judgmental), which was adapted for primary school students. Pearson Correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the students' Mathematics Achievement scores and their thinking styles. The analysis revealed a significant relationship between mathematics achievement and thinking styles of 4th grade primary school students. It was generally observed that these students predominantly adopted the Executive Thinking Style. This indicates that primary school students are still at the implementation stage regarding higher-order thinking skills. It is believed that providing an education that supports the thinking styles of students, who are still in the concrete operational stage during primary school, will help them advance to higher levels of thinking in their secondary school education.