Reading Habits and Performance in External Examination
CHAPTER ONE
Research Objectives
The objectives of this study are:
- To determine the different reasons for reading that motivates students to engage or not to engage in reading.
- To access the influence of parents, teachers and the environment on reading habit.
- To ascertain the different reading materials students enjoy reading.
- To identify the different interests of students other than reading.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Reading habits are a composition of different approaches in which any person applies for acquiring knowledge, skills and improving intellectual capacities (Acheaw, 2014). Numerous academic studies have established that good reading habits improve academic performance (Acheaw, 2014). In reviewing various literature on reading habits and academic performance, it was easy to identify that many studies and publications in both the natural and social sciences have noted the value of every student spending quality time reading either academic or non- academic material. I came across different themes such as theories of reading, reading frequency, socio-economic implications, cultural factors etc. All these themes were used by these researchers to comprehend the actual reading habits, the causes or motivation behind the habits, the effects (negative or positive), and suggested solutions to poor reading habits. For the purpose of this study, the themes that would be used are the reasons for reading, the influence of parents, teachers and the environment, and lastly the materials that students are interested in.
Definition of Key Terms
- Adolescents and Teens are young people between childhood and adulthood.Therefore in this study students between the ages of 11 and 14. (Donaldson, 013)
- Gender is defined as male or female.
- Leisure Reading is defined as time spent reading materials which were not assignedby parents, teachers, or anyone else. Therefore voluntary reading for the purpose of pleasure. (Covert, 2009)
- Non-readers is defined as students that did not actively engage in leisure reading anddid not consider themselves as people who like reading. (Covert, 2009)
- Readers– those who identify themselves to leisure read consistently (a minimum ofthree hours per week) and also consider themselves as someone who likes to read. (Covert, 2009)
- Reading , was defined by the position statement of the National Council of Teachers of English Commission on Reading, is the “complex, purposeful, social, and cognitive process in which readers simultaneously use their knowledge of the topic of the text, and their knowledge of their culture to construct meaning (Smith, 2009).
- Students’ reading habits were defined by how often students read, enjoy reading,would read more if they had more time, were read to when they were young, read at the same time as their family now, buy books and magazines, are encouraged to read, visited the library with their parents when they were young and now, and their parents read. Reading habits are well-planned and deliberate pattern of study which has attained a form of consistency on the part of students toward understanding academic subjects and passing at examinations (Acheaw, 2014)
- Students’ reading interests were defined by how often students read about thingsthey are passionate about; spend their free time, and what they are interested in. Why and what they read or do not read were also considered when examining their reading interests. (Smith, 2009).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter discusses the methodology of the study and outlines the various research instruments and methods that were used to collect data for the study. This is categorized into various key parts, which are: the research design of the study, sample and population, instruments, data analysis, and limitations.
Research Design
The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study was of a non-experimental nature, exploring various questions and hypotheses regarding reading habits of students. The design, therefore, was descriptive, with data collected from a naturally occurring group of participants without experimental manipulation through the use of questionnaires.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATE ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Introduction
This chapter reports the results of the study of the reading habits of children in schools in Ayeduase. The quantitative data collected through questionnaires was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 from 70 observations, made up of 35 students from the Ayeduase R/C Cluster of Schools and 35 from Shining Star Preparatory School. The analysis was done around the research objectives.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
In this final chapter of my dissertation, the results of the study are discussed. Recommendations are also made based on the findings to suggest how to increase the reading habits of students in Ayeduase. The main objective of this research was to investigate reading habits of students at Ayeduase.
Summary of Findings and discussion
From the findings in the previous chapter, an analysis is done below based on the objectives of the study. With regards to the biographical data, the analysis showed that there were more girls in the private school compared to the government school. In general, from both schools the difference between the number of boys and girls was 4(four) and this can be related to the recent encouragement of girl child education. More than half of the correspondents were between 13-15 years old and this suggests that most of them started school at the correct age given that the average student is 6 years old at basic stage one. Three students were 16+ and all three were from the government school. 74.3% of the students that took part in the study were Akans and this shows that the ethnicity of the students is not normally distributed but skewed. Also, this suggests that the findings from the study would be good for making an inference on the reading habits of Akans.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made:
In the future, more studies about the reading habits of school children at the elementary level in Ayeduase should be carried out. It would be very beneficial, if a follow up investigation is done to inquire if there is any alteration in the reading habits of the students that participated in this research, when they get to the Senior High School level. In reviewing related literature I noticed that little research has been done on the influence of parents or guardians‟ educational level and reading habits, and reading histories of children. It would also be valuable to complete surveys investigating the relationship between parents and the reading habits of their children.
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
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- Benwari, N.N, & Nemine, B.E (2014), Intensive Reading As a Study Habit and Students‟ Academic Achievement in Economics in Selected Secondary Schools in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jct.v3n2p94 Retrieved October 3, 2014.
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- Biancasrosa, G., & Snow, C.E. (2004). Reading Next—A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
- Covert, K.A (2009) An Exploration of the Leisure Reading Habits and Attitudes of Eighth-Grade Students.
- Donaldson, T.C.F (2013) An Investigation into Reading Habits Of Texas Middle And High School English Language Arts Teacher.
