Gender and Developmental Differences in the Academic Study Behaviors of Elementary School Children

Abstract

Abstract Study behaviors common to elementary school students were identified by teachers, and critical incidents of study behavior were derived from student interviews. A 40-item study behavior questionnaire was developed from the resulting data and administered to 793 elementary students. Factor analysis did not yield a stable structure for the total data set. However, further exploration yielded significant grade (fourth and sixth) and gender factors. The factors indicated that fourth-grade boys and girls emphasize overt study activities, but girls are more occupied with text, their thinking appears to be deeper, and their study behavior more deliberate. In sixth-grade, however, girls' predominant perception of study strategies becomes deliberate, planful review for tests, whereas boys are more concerned with independent study behaviors and deep processing of oral classroom interaction. These gender differences in study strategies appear to account for gender differences in academic achievement identified in various research studies.