Gender differences in the reading habits of secondary school students of Osun State public schools

Abstract

The research evaluated among secondary school students the time spent in reading and the reading materials preferred. The purpose for which they read was also identified. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted which focused on public secondary schools of Osun State, Southwest, Nigeria. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select 1101 senior secondary school students from 12 public schools covering the 6 educational zones of Osun State. A 20 item Reading Habit Scale was used. The questionnaire was administered with the aid of a research assistant and retrieved immediately from the volunteers after completion. One thousand and seventy-nine copies of the questionnaire were analyzed, 43% of the respondents were boys while 57% were girls. Only 18.6% of the respondents were daily long-time readers (>1 to 6 hours per day) which comprised 17% of the boys and 20% of the girls. Boys more than girls read past questions and solutions while girls more than boys read textbooks and subject teachers note. Boys (98%) more than girls (97%) indicated they read in order to get better grades in tests and examinations. Conversely, girls more than the boys read for a better understanding of topics taught by the teacher and for pleasure (84:76%). A statistically significant gender difference exists with respect to “reading for pleasure” (x=8.92, p=0.003). Most of the students have poor reading habits with respect to daily reading time. Girls were more daily long-time readers and also read for pleasure.