Abstract
The current study is a quantitative research that examined the mean differences of the students’ attitude towards reading, based upon several demographic variables (such as gender, grade level and social media devices usage)The researchers used the Students’ Reading Attitude Survey (SRAS) as the dependent variable; the sample consisted of 812 young elementary students (from the 5th and 6th grade) randomly selected from public schools.The research findings revealed that Kuwaiti students possess favorable attitudes toward both leisure and academic reading. Girls showed more positive attitudes toward reading than boys did. Younger students from the 5th grade showed more positive attitude toward reading than those of the 6th grade. Nevertheless, the results indicated that having an account in Instagram, Snap chat, or YouTube, or possessing a smart device had a negative effect on attitudes towards reading.This study is expected to help curriculum designers, education policy makers, and English teachers to promote independent reading amongst school students and enable them to move beyond traditional books by encouraging them to form a community of life-long readers in the Arab world.
Highlights
Reading is considered a corner stone for success not just in schools, but throughout one’s life (Anderson et al, 1985)
The results indicated that having an account in Instagram, Snap chat, or YouTube, or possessing a smart device had a negative effect on attitudes towards reading
Using the Students’ Reading Attitude Survey, the findings revealed that the students had positive attitudes toward academic and recreational reading in English as a second language in an English as Secondary Language (ESL) setting (Moha-Asraf & Abdullah, 2016)
Summary
Reading is considered a corner stone for success not just in schools, but throughout one’s life (Anderson et al, 1985). Educators point out that attitude towards reading is critical to determine student’s success during the elementary school and first stage of school years (Stanfield, 2008; Miller& Mecca, 1999). This is so because it plays a significant role in influencing children’s regularity of independent reading, their involvement in class reading activities, their choice of reading subjects, and accelerate their academic achievement (Logan & Johnston, 2009: Mullis et al, 2007; Clark, 2013; Wade, 2012; Cook, 2012). Many students in Kuwait government schools reach a certain level without the ability to read well in English and their capacity to use multiple thinking skills are usually very low (Al Darwish & Akbar, 2013)
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