GENDER AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES IN THE ACADEMIC STUDY BEHAVIORS OF ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL-CHILDREN

Study behaviors common to elementary school students were identified b y teachers, and critical incidents of study behavior were derived from student interviews, A 40-item study behavior questionnaire was develo ped from the resulting data and administered to 793 elementary student s, Factor analysis did not yield a stable structure for the total data set, However, further exploration yielded significant grade (fourth a nd sixth) and gender factors, The factors indicated that fourth-grade boys and girls emphasize overt study activities, but girls are more oc cupied 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 behavio rs and deep processing of oral classroom interaction, These gender dif ferences in study strategies appear to account for gender differences in academic achievement identified in various research studies.