TIME USE AND MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT AMONG AMERICAN, CHINESE, AND JAPANESE HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

Cultural differences in the structure of adolescents' daily lives were examined by interviewing representative samples of 578 grade 11 stude nts, aged 16-17 years, in Minneapolis, Taipei (Taiwan), and Sendai (Ja pan) about the amounts of time they spent in a wide variety of activit ies. Studying, interacting with peers, and watching television were th e most frequent activities in all 3 locations, but the relative import ance of each activity differed among the locations. Chinese students s pent significantly more time than American students engaged in academi c endeavors, such as attending school and after-school classes and stu dying. Japanese students did not spend significantly more time studyin g or attending after-school classes than American students, but they d id spend more time attending school. American students, in turn, spent more time working and socializing with friends. Differences in adoles cents' use of time were related to both cross-cultural and individual differences in mathematics achievement.