Gender differences in students' self-awareness of their handwriting performance

Introduction: Self-awareness has been found to be an important factor in individuals' performance in daily activities. Yet, to date, the relationship between this factor and handwriting performance has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to compare the handwriting self-awareness (that is, self-knowledge and on-line awareness) and performance of girls and boys, and to examine the relationship between self-awareness and handwriting performance. Method: Participants included 86 middle-school students (aged 12-14) enrolled in general education in Israel. A handwriting evaluation assessment was administered along with self-knowledge and on-line awareness questionnaires. Results: Gender differences were found in relation to students' self-awareness of their handwriting performance. In comparison with girls, boys perceived their handwriting to be faster, even though their actual handwriting performance was slower. Regarding legibility, only boys showed a significant correlation between self-knowledge and performance, while both genders demonstrated significant correlations between on-line awareness and performance. Conclusion: It appears that students aged 12-14 are only moderately aware of their handwriting performance, yet there are gender differences in relation to this awareness. These findings may assist educators and therapists in teaching, evaluating, and developing interventions to improve handwriting performance.