Work Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2022
Department
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Keywords
WEIRD; students; socioeconomic status; gender; study strategies; culture; diversity
Abstract
In survey research from western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) populations, students report predominantly studying by rereading, highlighting, and summarizing, which are generally inefficient for long-term learning. It is unknown, however, whether, and to what extent diversity, in the form of cultural context, socioeconomic status (SES) and sex, affect choice of study technique. In this exploratory study, we investigated the frequency of use of 10 common study strategies used by WEIRD students in a sample of respondents (N=795) from a developing country (Brazil). We also examined if SES and sex influenced study choices. A similar pattern of study strategy preferences emerged for Brazilian compared to WEIRD students. The most popular study strategy for Brazilian students was rereading, followed by highlighting, summarizing, and doing practice problems. Study strategy preferences were not modulated by SES, whereas some small but significant sex differences were found. Our data show that interventions designed to improve academic success by teaching effective study strategies should reach all students, irrespective of cultural context and SES, but should consider possible sex-specific differences in strategy choices.
Recommended Citation
Ekuni, Roberta; Nogueira de Souza, Bruno Miguel; Agarwal, Pooja K.; and Pompeia, Sabine, "A conceptual replication of survey research on study strategies in a diverse, non-WEIRD student population." (2022). Faculty Works.
https://remix.berklee.edu/faculty-works/10
Comments
This is the accepted version of an article appearing in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 8(1), 1–14.
©American Psychological Association, 2022. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000191