The Reason for Reading and Students Performance in Junior Secondary Schools, Keffi Local Government Area, Nasarawa
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the relationship between reading habit and student performance in junior secondary school
- To find out student reading difficulty in junior secondary school
- To Identify challenges faced by junior secondary school English language teachers in dealing with reading difficulties
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Reading can be defined as a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning. It is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experience, altitude and language community which is culturally and socially situated. (Wikipedia). To Fisher (2001) reading is an intellectual action which is possible only if a child has formed the habit of reading and practicing it since child hood. Tella and Akande (2007) asserted that the ability to read is at the heart of self education and lifelong learning and that it is an art capable of transforming life and society. Reading habit is a pattern in which individual organizes his reading Sanzkaeo (1999) sees reading habits to be the behaviors which expresses the liking for reading of individual types and tastes for reading. While Azikwe (1998) described reading habits as the way and manner a student plan his or her private study outside lecture hours in order to master a particular subject or topic fielden (2004) states that good reading habits help the student in critical reflection in skills outcomes such as selecting, analyzing, critiquing and synthesizing. Nneji (2002) also stated that reading habits are learning tendencies that enables students work privately. The importance of reading cannot be overemphasized, that is why Isuigo-Abamike (2001) emphasized that reading has a direct influence on the performance of any student, be it for the purpose of passing exams or for leisure. To kolawole (2005) reading is basic to learning, and so the child’s ability to read is the centre of his educational process. Nkiko and Yusuf (2006) asserted that reading is one of the life’s greatest pleasures that open the door to culture, knowledge and independence. Because of the role that reading plays in the learning situation, Deavers (2000) is of the view that once a child has been taught how to read and develop the love for books, he can explore for himself the wealth of human experience and knowledge. Also Maduekwe (2002) posits that once students gets accustomed to reading they become better students, they will be able to learn fast, understand better, and acquire new knowledge and skills more rapidly and are better equipped for their chosen careers. Thanuskodi (2012) when explaining the benefit of reading says that a reader can learn new skills, become more knowledgeable about the whole world and can be stimulated to both thoughts and emotions. As human beings there different reasons why we read and different kinds of materials we read. Oke (1996) gives reasons why students read to be include self improvement, pleasure, and relaxation and also feeling of pride and prestige. To Potter (2011) reading fires children’s imagination and encourages quick learning as well as widens their views, expands their horizons and helps readers learn about present times. He further stressed that reading encourages imaginations, curiosity and the ability to handle complex ideas. Furthermore, Okebukola (2004) affirms that through reading humans have the tools to transmit knowledge to succeeding generation. A survey carried out by Book aid international (2003) in Sonaike (2004) revealed that children in developed country reads for relaxation, while majority of children in developing countries read only for passing exams. However, the inability of students not forming a habit of reading could be linked to some factors. Nssein (2008) highlighted some of the factors leading to low reading habit as; slow comprehensive rate, slow reading rate, difficulty in distinguishing main ideas from relevant details, inadequate vocabulary, inadequate reading interests, on availability of reading materials, distractions from Television, and other viewing gadgets. Fosudo (2010) while trying to explain the negative effect of poor reading skill said that it can make a child develop a poor attitude toward school and can create self-esteem problems later in life. However, some problems attached to the poor reading habits includes; mass failure, poverty, loss of self esteem, and above all illiteracy. Also secondary school students must often associate reading with academic task and not for knowledge and pleasure: this does not enable the students who have the reading skill to maximize the activity for self and social development, in view of this, Sanacore (1990) emphasized that the reader interest and habit is determined by a number of factors such as social values of the society, school, family and environment, each factor has its own function and promotes the development of reader personality. Ambigapthy (1997) mentioned that the cultivation of reading habit is influenced by a range of other factor like exposure to media and computer, also the fact that we are currently living in area where public discussion take place on television, video, multi – channel satellite broadcasting, interactive cable system, email and internet stimulate reading activity.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to The reason for reading and students performance in junior secondary schools, keffi local government area, nasarawa
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information The reason for reading and students performance in junior secondary schools, keffi local government area, nasarawa. 200 staff of selected secondary schools in keffi local government area, nasarawa was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was The reason for reading and students performance in junior secondary schools, keffi local government area, Nasarawa. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of The reason for reading and students performance in junior secondary schools
Summary
This study was on The reason for reading and students performance in junior secondary schools, keffi local government area, Nasarawa. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the relationship between reading habit and student performance in junior secondary school, to find out student reading difficulty in junior secondary school and to Identify challenges faced by junior secondary school English language teachers in dealing with reading difficulties. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected schools in keffi local government area, nasarawa. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that the achievement of students in reading comprehension could be determining by students’ involvement in extensive reading of articles from newspapers and magazines. The study revealed that majority of the respondents had the view that reading habits have effect on academic performance and that there is a direct relationship between reading habits and academic performance. The study further found out that laziness is one of the basic hindrances to reading among the respondents.
Recommendation
- Teachers should engage students in frequent reading and writing activities. They should use varied and enough teaching aids to enhance reading. They should also encourage students to read publicly to the hearing of others.
- School principals should ensure that enough time is allocated for reading in the school timetable. They should also encourage teachers to teach reading as a separate subject in the school.
- Parents should encourage their children to read from an early age. They should also strive to have a library at home as well as favorable reading environment at home.
- School libraries should organize readership promotion programs from time to time and prizes awarded to students who are proficient in reading and writing.
- The teacher librarians should provide enough necessary reading materials in their school libraries to motivate the interest of the students. Variety of reading materials like story books, novels, newspapers and magazines should be provided for the students’ leisure time.
REFERENCES
- Agbezree, L.(2001) Library Facilities and their use in Ghanaian Secondary School. Case study of St. Peters. Unpublished MA dissertation, University of Ghana: Legon. pp 70
- Babbie, E. (2005) The Basics of Social Research. 3rd ed, Belmont: Thomson Wadswort pp 265, 274.
- Bashir , I.& Mattoo, N. H.(2012) A Study on Study Habits and Academic Performance Among Adolescents (14-19) years. International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow. Vol.1, No. 5, pp. 1-5.
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- Dadzie, P. S. (2008) Reading for Education: The roles of Libraries. Ghana Library Journal Vol. 20. No. 1. pp. 1-14
- Deavers, R. (2000) The Effect of Instruction on Early Non-Word Reading Strategies. Journal of Research in Reading. No.23, pp 267-286.
- Gallo, D. (2007) Reading Interests and Habits of Connecticut Students in Grades Four through Twelve. The Reading Matrix. Vol. 2, No.3 pp 1-20.
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- Guthrie J.T. Benneth, L & McGough, K (2007), Concept-oriented Reading Instruction: An Integrated Curriculum to Develop Motivations and Strategies for Reading http://curry.virginia.edu/go/clic/nrrc/corri_rlo.html Retrieved on November, 28 2013.
