CAUSES AND EFFECT OF POOR READING HABIT AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

1.1 Introduction

Reading habit refers to habitual and regular reading of books and information materials among individuals. Reading habit can be enhanced through provision of suitable reading materials at home, schools and public places. The reading habit of Nigerian students says that their reading habit is poor because they read with only one aim in view that of passing examination, and not for pleasure. School children read so as to pass examinations and to do assignment and that they read in classrooms and parlour of their respective houses and the major problems affecting reading culture include lack of library period in their school time table and lack of library in homes (Saka, 2012). The nature of reading ability is very complex from observation, one could risk the generalization that most student do not know how to read and as a result they are faced with reading problems especially during examination periods.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Reading skill has over the years been a difficult and demanding task, it is important to note that there are many complex problems that many result in poor reading habit among students. The method results in excessive occupation with words and their sound and there is therefore lack of silent reading. Lack of good motivation by parents and teachers also affects the student ability to read. Bad method of teaching which has result from unqualified teachers can actually develop into undesirable habits in reading.

Reading as an intellectual activity is undertaken in literate society for obtaining information, acquiring and expanding knowledge. It is an important activity in the life of an individual because it motivates the individual interest towards the achievement of more knowledge. It also affords the individual to derive pleasure and entertainment in sharing from the experiences of others communicated through prints or test materials. It is also a process by which printed words are assimilated, interpreted and transmitted into spoken words to understand the meaning and apply it on a daily basis.

A student’s ability to further his education after Secondary School depends on the extent of interest he has developed in reading over the years. Yusuf (2015) observed that reading is critical for children’s success in and outside school. In the views of Ogbonna (2014) reading literally refers to the ability to recognize and understand characters or speak words that may be printed or written on paper and other formats of recording human knowledge. It is the ability to obtain meaning from words. Consequently, a person who can easily read and write is said to be a literate person.

Reading is a receptive skill like listening and vocalizing what was stimulated, it also productive when it is done aloud. However, it is a mental process involving the interpretation of signs perceived through the sense organs. The reading habit of school children in Nigeria is rather poor and this affect to a great extent the academic performance of school children. Poor reading habit is believed to be one of the causes of poor performance in secondary schools in Nigeria today. There is however no generally accepted definition of academic performance because of the multifaceted domains of learning, Be that as it may, every academic pursuit should have some aims and objective which it sets out to achieve. At the completion of such programme, an evaluation is carried out to measure how far the participants benefitted from the programme or the extent to which the desired skills has been acquired by the learners. This evaluation is usually based on the set goals and objective of the academic institution that designed the programme. The outcome of this assessment is academic performance. All information gathering are conceived in the readers mind. In loud reading, the reader reads out words for others to hear minding all the necessary punctuations.

It has however been observed that many students especially those in the junior secondary seldom read effectively, sometimes many of the students are held back in their study by slow reading speed. Some read more quickly to themselves than they do aloud. The focal point of this study lies basically on the factors that are responsible for poor reading habits among junior secondary school students and the effect it has on their reading ability.

Therefore, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Causes and Effect of Poor Reading Habit among Junior Secondary School Students.

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1.3 Statement of Problem

Investigation revealed that that most secondary school is faced with the problem of poor reading habits and this problem has taken deep roots in the part of the students either as a result of lack of qualified teachers, ill-health of students, bad method of teaching, outdated textbooks, family background and psychological factors and teachers poor attitude towards reading and teaching students the proper reading skills.

From early time to the present, Nigeria has attached much importance to reading starting from primary school through the tertiary level. It is important to note that there exist many complex problems that may result to the problem of poor reading habits and its consequences on the academic performance of a child in school system. This made the researcher to dive into possible effects encountered by secondary school students in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Causes and Effect of Poor Reading Habit among Junior Secondary School Students in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To investigate the effect of poor reading habits and its consequences on the academic performance of students;
2. To determine whether lack of teaching aids in secondary schools give room to poor reading habits.
3. To find out if poor reading habit among students result to performance in the examination;
4. To examine the physical and mental defects lead to poor reading habits; and
5. To ascertain the teaching methods used by teachers that causes poor reading habits among students.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does lack of teaching aids in secondary schools give room to poor reading habits?
• Does physical and mental defect lead to poor reading habits?
• Does poor reading habit among students result to performance in the examination?
• Does low intelligence affect efficiency in reading?
• Does bad teaching methods used by teachers causes poor reading habits among students?
• What is the effect of poor reading habits and its consequences on the academic performance of students?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant difference in the reading habit of male and female students
• H1: There is significant difference in the reading habit of male and female students

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant relationship between student reading habits and student academic performance
• H1: There is no significant relationship between student reading habits and student academic performance

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1.7 Significance of Study

This research work would be useful to students, as they will have first hand information of the causes, effect and lasting solution on the problems of poor reading habits. Also, this research will make government, principals, of secondary school and teachers to update themselves with new method of teaching reading and the provision of educational facilities.

The awareness of the consequences of poor reading habit will make students improve on the suggested solution and this will serve as a channel to students as regard their reading in and outside their secondary level and this will motivate them to provide the necessary school materials for themselves. It will also enhance the standard of education because the study will equip students to master some key words and techniques or reading. This will lead to success and self reliance during their exams and in the society.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of this study is focused on the Causes and Effect of Poor Reading Habit among Junior Secondary School Students in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Reading: It is the ability to attach meaning to printed symbols.

Skills: The ability to do something well

Student: A person usually under the age of 16 who students in secondary school.