The Interplay between Gender, Learning Approaches and Academic Performance in Chinese Sub-Degree and Degree Students

Abstract

The community college has been the alternative choice for secondary school graduates on the verge of enrolling in government-funded universities in the Hong Kong higher education system over the past decade. Open University of Hong Kong provides its business degree distance learning programme through face-to-face teaching mode for full-time students. This study examines the relationship of gender, learning approaches and academic performance among 250 Hong Kong Chinese sub-degree and degree students. Students participated in the study responded to the Biggs’s Revised Two-Factor Study Processes Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and McAuley’s Revised Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII). The results indicate that the deep approach and academic performance is positively related. Implications of the findings are discussed for tertiary teachers and counselors.