Abstract
The study investigated the determinants of students’ reading culture in junior secondary schools in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State. The purpose of the study, six research questions were posed and five null hypotheses were formulated. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population for the study comprised 5878 (2949 male and 2929 female) JSS 3 students in public secondary schools in Nsukka education zone. Sample size of 312 JSS 3 students in public schools in Nsukka education zone was used in this study. The sample was drawn using multi-stage sampling technique. Questionnaire on Determinants of Students’ Reading Culture (QDSRC) was used to collect data for this study. The instrument (QDSRC) was face validated by two experts from Department of Arts Education and another from Science Education (Measurement & Evaluation) all in Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. An overall reliability index of 0.90 was obtained using Cronbach alpha method. The data obtained for the study were analyzed using means analysis to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that junior students in Nukka Education Zone portray bad reading habits and can be said to have a bad reading culture. Also, curriculum, social media, home background and location to a high extent influence students’ reading culture in secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone whereas gender is not a significant factor on students’ reading culture. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that State and Local Governments should establish libraries in every local government and young readers’ club should be introduced in schools to promote and encourage reading among students.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Reading is the springboard of any literacy programme. It is one of the oldest habits of human civilization. It is recognized as an art capable of transforming man’s life and his entire society. Reading has been the passion of the greatest personalities of all times. An illiterate society is no doubt a limited society (Ngugi & Mberia, 2014). This is because reading serves as a tool for the access and enhancement of intellectual properties of people from generation to generation so as to ensure continuous human and societal transformations and developments. According to Rubin (2002), reading is a total integrative process that starts with the reader it and includes the affective, psychomotor, and cognitive domains. Okebukola (2004) affirms that, through reading, humans have the tools to transmit knowledge to each succeeding generation; it allows one to listen to the wisdom and people of the ages. This is emphasized by many different religious traditions. The Apostle Paul admonished Timothy in the holy Bible saying, “study to show yourself approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15). Islam also holds acquisition of knowledge (literacy, reading, etc.) in high esteem. The holy Qur’an revealed that the first communication (injunction) between Allah and Prophet Muhammad was knowledge-based, – Iqraa, meaning “read” or “recite” (Qur’an 96: 1-5). This implies that reading is not just for school, it is for life. Reading in all its variety is vital to being better informed, have a better understanding of us as well as others. It makes man to be a thoughtful and constructive contributor to a democratic and cohesive society. Oyedepo (2008) asserts that every committed reader is a potential leader. This suggests that a person who is committed to reading will not only become a leader, but a successful adult leader who is able to surmount the challenges and problems encountered in life. In other words, reading is synonymous with leadership because leaders are readers.
Reading is a very important issue which is not only about enjoyment but a necessity; the basic tool of education (Makotsi, 2005). Reading makes way for a better understanding of one’s own experiences and it can be an exciting voyage to self-discovery (Eyre, 2005). The importance of reading is a prerequisite for the appreciation of reading culture as vital tool for the enhancement of human intellectual abilities. More so, the act of reading serves as agent of human transformations by changing and enhancing the destiny of people for better or worse through their access to the intellectual properties of others that were written down. The flow of ideas cannot be stopped hence, one needs to read and research to build on good ideas and expose the destructive ones. Reading according to Holte (1998) adds quality to life and provides access to culture and cultural heritage. The nation as a political entity is not exempted from enjoying the benefit that emanate from reading populace. Reading enhances the application of recorded knowledge into use where the citizens can readily be mobilized for attainment of political, educational, social and economic goals of the nation (Mefor, 2011). Reading is of immense value for the success of every society as it imparts knowledge; hence, the ability to read should be highly valued because it is a precondition for social and economic advancement.
Reading empowers students to improve on their bulk of vocabulary hence; there is positive improvement on the written and spoken language of students that read voraciously because every unknown word or term is looked up in a dictionary (Divya, 2007). Reading is one of the language skills and it has other skills that are skimming scanning, intensive reading and extensive reading. Reading research shows that good readers read extensively, have a flexible reading style and rely on different skills. Raising students’ awareness of reading as a skill that requires active engagement students develop both the ability and habit of reading which improves their reading culture for excellence in all academic works.
The purpose of learning to read in a language has been to have access to literature written in different languages. It is assumed that students learn to read a language by studying its vocabulary, grammar, and sentence, structure. Therefore, language has to be read for it to be learnt. The reading and understanding of different languages help in the general academic performance of students in all subjects. Therefore, the Contemporary Nigerian students depend on reading literature to improve on their command of English language or any other language and the habit of reading good literature helps them to decipher new words and phrases which may be encountered in everyday conversation. Furthermore, there is positive Improvement on the general academic performance of a student that makes out time to read interdisciplinary information materials. This is why reading professional information resources as daily routine and sticking to it improves one on his chosen career. The ability of a student to achieve the general objectives or purposes of formal education which is anchored on self development in order to achieve national development is highly interwoven with meaningful reading.
Emphatically, it may be difficult for students to attain meaningful development and growth if they do not make reading a part of their lives and culture because cultivating reading culture is an important developmental strategy to individuals and nations. Reading culture is a tradition of people who place high premium on reading such that they become active, engaged and avid readers (UNESCO, 2009). Consequently, students must have reading as their tradition and value system before they can be adjudged to have reading culture. Reading culture underscores the need to build in students’ enjoyment of their reading outside classroom in a way that can enhance their pleasure and help develop their critical eye so that they become enthusiastic and successful readers. Therefore, when students habitually and regularly read books and other information materials that are not necessarily required for them to advance in their profession or field of study, such students are said to have good reading culture.
Furthermore, reading culture entails inculcating reading and studying as part of societal value system and as basis for growth and development. It is the type that sees continuous and dedicated reading of information resources by pupils, children, students and adults for knowledge acquisitions, which will be practically applied for personal and national development. Reading culture is acquired as a result of quality formal and non- formal instruction in a number of languages, phonological awareness, vocabulary, text comprehension and active engagement with text (Ihuoma, 2012). Meanwhile, in the context of this study, reading culture implies the acts of consciously and consistently making reading a part of one’s life activity with the sole aim of being well grounded in general knowledge. However, reading habit is an uncontrollable passion for everyday reading until one gets accustomed to it as a pattern of living and value system; hence Reading habit leads to reading culture therefore they are not used interchangeably in this study.
