Article Summary and Analysis 2

Article Title: The status of reading habit and interests among secondary school children in Sri Lanka

Author: P.H.A.S. Abeyrathna and A.N. Zainab

Journal: Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science Vol. 9 (2), 2004, pgs. 109-123

Summary

            The research in this article took the form of a reading and school library survey given to 300 secondary students in ten different schools in Sri Lanka.  The survey asked questions regarding the genres and types of materials read by students; time spent reading; the reading environment at home; students’ attitudes and purposes for reading; and students’ attitudes, use, and awareness of how to use the school library.  The paper then broke down the answers along the lines of gender and academic stream (arts or science).  A brief summary of some of the results are as follows:

• the material most read by students was textbooks for classes
• there was a high relationship between the amount of time students read and the amount of time their parents’ read
• girls read slightly more than boys
• both genders read more fiction than nonfiction, but boys read more nonfiction than girls
• students in the arts stream read more for knowledge, while students in the sciences stream read more for leisure
• students primarily used the school libraries for reference materials or a place to study
• less than half of the students borrowed books from the library, but girls were twice as more likely to borrow books than boys
• the majority of students responded that they did not know how to use the school library to locate materials nor had they ever received any instruction

Analysis:

            This survey and research closely matches what I have seen in my school among secondary students regarding types of material read and use of the school library. The areas in which I see correspondence with my school are: the materials read are mostly for classwork, fiction is read more than nonfiction, boys read more nonfiction than girls, less than half of the students use the library to check out books, and, while I have no proof of this, I would imagine the majority of secondary students do not know how to locate books in the library.  While this survey didn’t touch on areas of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for reading, it did provide helpful information regarding the relationship between parents who read and children who read, which will be an area I will want to look at in my research and any surveys I may give to students later in the year. Finally, the information regarding the school library was very helpful because it helps to paint a picture of what students envision the library to be: a place to study that just so happens to contain a lot of books. The librarian(s) and teachers need to promote the library as a place to check out and read books for enjoyment in addition to just being necessary for studying.

References

Abeyrathna, P.H.A.S, & Zainab, A.N. (2004). The status of reading habit and interests among secondary school children in Sri Lanka. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 9(2), 109-123. Retrieved from http://repository.um.edu/1316/1/299.edu