Factors Responsible for Poor Reading Habits among Senior Secondary School Students in Osun State

Abstract

Reading habit refers to the regular and consistent practice of reading, which is crucial for academic success and life-long learning. Poor reading habit in Nigeria, specifically among senior secondary school students, has reached alarming state. The situation needs to be urgently addressed before it gets out of control. It is against this backdrop that this study investigates the factors responsible for poor reading habits among senior secondary school students in Osun State, Nigeria. The research adopted survey research design. The population comprised 21,393 senior secondary schools (SS2) students in 243 public secondary schools across Osun State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select three Local Government Areas (LGAs) from each of the three districts across the state. Three schools were randomly selected from each of the sampled LGAs to make a total of 27. Random sampling technique was used to select 78 students from each school to make a total of 2,106 respondents. Factors Responsible for Poor Students’ Reading Habits Questionnaire (FRPSRHQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated, tested for reliability and yielded reliability coefficient of 0.87. The finding revealed that student-related factors including poor interest, poor time management, low motivation, distraction from technology and among other factors were responsible for poor reading habits among senior secondary school students in Osun State. Study recommends that schools and parents should motivate students, manage their time and social media use, and support their reading skills to improve students’ good reading habit.