Research has shown that males often struggle with the demands of college, one of which involves comprehending academic texts. Many males, however, do understand course readings and are successful students. Unfortunately, little is known about how successful and struggling college males differ in their use of reading strategies, the effective use of which is vital for academic text comprehension. The following study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing first-semester college males’ strategy use and investigating whether it was related to academic success. The results were similar to other studies of college students’ strategy use and suggest that many males are unwilling or unable to use certain strategies. In addition, a small number of significant correlations between strategy use and academic success were found. Explanations for such results and pedagogical interventions to help first-semester college males better use reading strategies are considered.
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