Gender differences in reading strategy use in the Greek academic context
Theoklia Rizouli & Zoe Kantaridou

Reading is the most important skill in the academic environment, having a major contribution to academic success. Various studies in different educational contexts have reported differences in reading strategies between the two genders. However, the Greek higher education context has not yet been investigated in this respect. In an attempt to explain gender differences in the employment of academic reading strategies, we report results on reading strategy use of university students in relation to their gender. The t-test results indicated that female students use significantly more problem-solving and support strategies while in the global reading strategy category, the frequency of use is almost equal in the two genders. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences in eight strategy items, three of which belong to the global category, two in problem-solving and three in the support category. In six of these items, female students stand higher than male ones. Results are discussed in relation to similar studies in the literature and further research is suggested.

Keywords: Reading strategies, metacognition, Greek HE education, gender