Most Prevalent Study Skills among Taiwanese High School Students with Reference to Gender

Abstract

This study investigated Taiwanese high school students’ study skills with reference to gender differences. 612 students (358 girls, and 254 boys) from six random high schools in Taiwan participated in this study. A 24-item questionnaire originally developed by University of Houston Clear Lake, Texas was adopted, abridged, and administered. The main focus of the questionnaire was on three study habits/skills constructs of “time management & procrastination”, “study aids & note-taking”, and “organizing & processing information” (eight items each). A Pearson Chi-square test (α ≤.05) was used for each of the 24 items of the questionnaire. The results showed that Taiwanese high school boys and girls have very similar, an even sometimes identical, viewpoints towards study skills. The only significant difference observed in the data analysis in this study were items 1, 5, and 8, suggesting that compared with girls, boys typically care more about time management. Moreover, and based on the rubrics devised by the original instrument developer, it was calculated that the highest difference between boys and girls was .61 “arriving at classes and other meetings on time”, whereas the lowest difference was 0 for “maintaining a critical attitude during study - thinking before accepting or rejecting”. Also, both girls and boys equally seemed to be strongest in “arriving at classes and other meetings on time” (item 1), and weakest in “having a system for marking textbooks” (item 14).