The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive learning styles in a specific field of study—fashion merchandising. The Witkin Group Embedded Figures Test and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory classified 173 fashion merchandising students and six instructors into cognitive learning style categories. The Herold Teaching Strategy Observation Checklist categorized six clothing/textile classes into instructional styles of field independent orfield dependent. Results showed students in the selected field offashion merchandising did have a predominant cognitive learning style; fifty nine percent of the students were field dependent on the Witkin instrument and 44.5% were Divergers on the Kolb inventory. No relationship wasfound between: (1) aparticular cognitive learning style and academic achievement, (2) a match or mismatch ofcognitive learning style ofstudent and instructional setting and student achievement, (3) the Kolb and Witkin instruments in classification of students into learning style categories, nor (4) personal cognitive learning style of teachers and their style of teaching.
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