Abstract
This study aims to examine gender differences in reading skills (literal, inferential, critical, and appreciative) of 11th Grade students in public high schools in UAE and determine to what extent they are statistically significant. The survey uses a quantitative questionnaire about reading skills (literal, inferential, critical, and appreciative) in English. A total of 600 students (n = 300 male, n = 300 female) participated in this survey. A one-way ANOVA test is employed for data analysis. The results indicate that female students obtain higher mean scores (M = 3.54, SD =1.08) for reading practices with lower-level thinking skills (literal reading) and experience inferential and critical reading practices more than male students. However, they exhibit no significant difference in reading practices with lower-level thinking skills and inferential, critical, and appreciative reading skills in English. Future studies could extend this research domain to other countries in the Middle East with large student samples.
Highlights
Learners display a wide range of individual differences, which can be considered predictors of achievement
Purpose of the study This study aims to investigate the gender differences in reading skills of 11th Grade students (n = 600) in public high schools in UAE
The overall results indicated that female students obtained higher mean scores (M = 3.54, SD = 1.08) for reading practices with lower-level thinking skills
Summary
Learners display a wide range of individual differences, which can be considered predictors of achievement. One main predictor is gender, a tangible factor influencing students’ academic interests and achievement and other learning interests, needs, and styles. Many recent studies on gender Oda 2018; Reilly, Neumann and Andrews 2018) have investigated its effect on academic interests and achievement. These scholarly efforts have created a fertile research area for Second Language (L2) instructors and researchers who examined the relationship between gender and academic achievement in the four language skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, and speaking). As reading is a crucial skill in L2 learning, it has received considerable attention in the literature on the relationship between gender and reading skills. This research stream has included literal, inferential, critical, and appreciative reading levels (Oda 2018)
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