A Demographic Survey of Learning Behaviors Among American Students

Abstract

A nationally representative survey of students' learning behaviors observed by classroom teachers of 1,500 school-aged American youth is presented. Participants comprised the standardization cohort of the Learning Behaviors Scale (McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999) stratified according to the U.S. Census. Base rates of learning behaviors are analyzed for both rank-order precedence and overall prevalence across demographic categories of sex, ethnicity, age group, parent education, residence location, household configuration, and special education status. Correlations detected minimal variability in behavioral item rankings across demographic groups. In contrast, multiple ordinal logistic regression demonstrated considerably increased odds of maladaptive learning behaviors among males and students in special education. Moderate differences were found for age, ethnicity, and low parent educational level, whereas few differences were associated with location of residence or family constellation.