Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists | Page 11
Gender Differences and Handwriting
Previous research has indicated differences in handwriting
based on gender such as girls have often been shown to
write faster and more legibly both in elementary school and in
higher grades. Although some research on the underlying
components of handwriting has been done to determine why
these differences may exist, very little has been explored
regarding cognitive skills or self awareness.
The British Journal of Occupational Therapy published
research examining the handwriting self-awareness and
performance of 86 Israeli middle school students, girls and
boys, and the relationship between self-awareness and
handwriting performance. A handwriting evaluation assessment was administered along with
self-knowledge and on-line awareness questionnaires. Self-knowledge was defined as “one’s
understanding of one’s own cognitive strengths and limitations in different areas of functioning
that exist outside the context of a particular task” and on-line awareness was defined as “the
ability to monitor, regulate, and evaluate performance of an activity within a specific context”.
The results indicated the following:
1. differences were found between boys and girls in relation to students’ self-awareness
of their handwriting performance.
2. boys perceived their handwriting to be faster, even though their actual handwriting
performance was slower.
3. boys showed a significant correlation between self-knowledge and performance regarding
legibility.
4. boys and girls demonstrated significant correlations between on-line awareness and
performance.
The researchers concluded that students aged 12–14 are only moderately aware
of their handwriting performance, yet there are gender differences in relation to
this awareness. In addition the researchers recommend evaluating handwriting
self-awareness (self-knowledge and on-line awareness) to help plan handwriting intervention.
Reference: : Lahav O, Maeir A,Weintraub N (2014) Gender differences in students’
self-awareness of their handwriting performance. British Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 77(12), 614–618. DOI: 10.4276/030802214X14176260335309
Need handwriting activities? Check out all of our resources at
http://yourtherapysource.com/handwriting.html
www.YourTherapySource.com