Chapter 2
Review Of Related Literature and studies
This chapter shows a retrospective presentation of previously written material, research literature
and conceptual that has relevance and significance to the research under considered
Related Literature
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Hence, various programs were conceived. [14] reviewed the different programs. One of which is
the Aural-Read Respond-Oral—Write (ARROW) which gives premium to practice of the child
hearing his/her voice as an essential key in reading and spelling words. Added to the list is the
Accele Read and Accele Write intervention program. Although the program was originally
developed for dyslexic children, it is now commonly used for children with less successful
readers. In the said program, learning assistants work with individual students for 20 minutes
every day for over four weeks. Children are given a card containing words.
The, 2019 May-June children are allowed to read the words as many time as he/she needs until
he/she is confident in reading the words and typing the same with the cards faced down. Another
one is Better Reading Support Partners. It is a ten-week program of three fifteen-minute sessions.
The program employs a one on-one scheme with a partner who is provided with an in school link
by the teacher.
Assessment of the reading skills among grade 1 students is conducted before they are promoted
to grade 2. Should students perform poorly and not meet the set proficiency, the learner is
retained in his/her previous grade. However, criticism exists that despite this policy many
students who are reaching high school remain to know not how to read or are struggling readers.
Besides, the digits are showing the view about the landscape of literacy that the country is
currently in. Data shows that by the time children graduate from elementary and promoted to
high school one-third are identified to ‘frustrated readers' and another one-third are ‘instructional
reader’. These levels are both below the desired and expected reading level for the grade and age
of the learners.
Also, as reported in 2003, Metro Manila was determined to have the highest literacy rate while
the Autonomous Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was with the lowest rate (68.9%.) which was a
decline from the 1994 rate of 73.5% [15]. For ten years, 9 out of 15 regions showed a decline in
the literacy rate – two of the Visayan Region (VI and VII) and all of the regions in Mindanao.
This disturbing report has not remained true in 2003. In 2014, the DepEd Literacy Council
reported based on their ‘literacy mapping’ that 9 out of the 10 top illiterate barangays come from
Mindanao [16]. If it takes a village to raise a child, it must always take the whole educational
system to make children read. This means that a concerted and directed effort must be put in
place to support sustain opportunities and practices aimed at making children proficient.
However, there is a scarcity of studies on reading comprehension and the utilization of the same
to inform the creation of reading programs for elementary school students in Western Mindanao
State University. This is the impetus for the conduct of this research investigation.
Foreign
According to Palani (2012), reading habit is an essential and important aspect for creating a
literate society in this world. It shapes the personality of individuals and it helps them to develop
proper thinking methods, and creates new ideas. However, the developments in the Mass Media,
had continued to influence interest in reading (hard copy of literatures such as…) books,
magazines and journals, among others.
Palani (2012) is of the opinion that, effective reading is important avenue of effective learning
and reading is interrelated with the total educational process and hence, educational success
requires successful reading habit. He believes reading is the identification of the symbols and the
association of appropriate meaning with them. It requires identification and comprehension.
Comprehension skills help the learner to understand the meaning of words in isolation and in
context. Before the advent of the television, both the young and the old found enough time to
read.
Apart from teachers, other professionals used to spend their leisure time in reading both English
and vernacular literature. English medium schools almost always demanded extra reading from
their students. But all these have become a thing of the past. Palani (2012) further added that,
nowadays, reading habit has lost its importance as both the young and the old are glued to the
television. As far as educational institutions are concerned, coaching students for the
examinations seems to be the be-all and end-all of our educational system.
A lot of researchers like Ogbodo (2002), Bhan & Gupta (2010), and Singh (2011) have done
work on reading, especially how it affects the academic performance of students. However, most
of these works pertain to the international community. Few ones such as Ward, (1997),
Agbezree, (2001) conducted in Ghana were limited to primary and secondary levels of
education. It is against this backdrop that it has become necessary to conduct similar study in
Ghana to examine the effect of reading habits on the academic performance of students in the
tertiary level of education in Ghana with particular reference to Koforidua Polytechnic.
Related Studies
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Reading can be understood as a conscious endeavor of a person to acquire the central message of
the writer which entails interpreting the code, conceptualizing and evaluating the text (Smith &
Robinson, 1980). Smith (1995) argued that it is an engaging activity wherein the previous
knowledge of a reader about the world goes along with the message carried by the text, be it
directly or indirectly.
Day & Bamford (1998) argued that reading refers to establishing of meaning from a
printed or written message which can be done through connecting the information from the
written text with the previous knowledge of the reader in order to come up with an
understanding. It is about possessing the ability to make sense out of the text, which entails
having the capability of the reader to understand before acquiring meaning from the
information presented (Adentunji, 2017).
Specifically, reading habit is defined as a behavior that determines the reading preference and
tastes of individuals (Sangkaeo, 1999). It refers to a process wherein a person arranges his or her
reading patterns according to the kinds, contents and features of reading materials, the frequency
and the amount of time invested in reading. An individual with a good reading habit tends to
have a regular reading activity. The consistency in reading is what builds the reading habit.
Chettri & Rout (2013) believed that it is a must to have a good amount of reading habit in order
to develop an interest in reading. One really has to boost his habit of reading if he aims to
achieve a healthy intellectual growth.
Florence et al. (2017) argued that what a good reading habit does is it enhances academic
performance. Their study revealed that majority of the students understood the significance of
reading. This suggests that reading habit can help individuals develop their intellectual capacity.
A good reading habit would help improve the reading speed and fluency, as it increases
vocabularies, and helps one gain academic achievement. It will also widen the horizon of a
person's knowledge and would make him understand a plethora of information.
On the other hand, Anyaegbu (2016) described in his research that the absence of comprehension
in reading discouraged the students to study in the classroom since it was not easy for them to
understand the text. Many research studies have shown interest in observing the students' reading
habits. Bullent (2002) investigated the reading levels of 108 children between the age of 11 and
12. He then categorized them into four classes: first, the heavy readers (those who read 2 books
in a month), second, the moderate readers (those who read at least one book each year), third, the
rare readers (those who read 1 book every 2 months) and fourth, the non readers. Blackwood
(1991) claimed that studies have shown that it was unlikely for the students to read more than 2
Foreign
Reading is the ability to understand words contained in a document and make use of the
knowledge for personal growth and development (Dadzie, 2008). This implies making meaning
out of recorded information either printed or non-printed in the life of an individual. People read
for different reasons and purposes, some of which include for pleasure, leisure, relaxation,
information and for knowledge. Reading is the identification of the symbols and the association
of appropriate meaning with them. It requires identification and comprehension.
Comprehension skills help the learner to understand the meaning of words in isolation and in
context (Palani, 2012). He believes reading is a process of thinking, evaluating, judging,
imagining, reasoning and problem solving. 6 Reading is an essential tool for knowledge transfer
and the habit of reading is an academic activity that increases skills in reading strategies. To
know about the world and its environment, a child helps himself through reading books,
newspapers and other magazines. Once the child has been taught to read and has developed the
love for books, he can explore for himself the wealth of human experiences and knowledge
through reading. Children, who miss the opportunity of getting in touch with books in their early
stages of life, find it hard to acquire good reading habits in their later years (Deavers, 2000).
Reading is an intellectual action which is possible only if a man forms a habit of reading and
practices these from childhood.
Reading habits, therefore, play a very crucial role in enabling a person to achieve practical
efficiency. “Laws die but books never.” Indeed, books are the most suitable medium through
which knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation (Issa et al, 2012). Singh (2011)
examined academic achievement and study habits of higher secondary students. The study was
conducted on hundred (100) higher secondary students randomly from two higher secondary
schools. The result indicates that girls and boys differ significantly in their study habits and
academic achievement. Bhan and Gupta (2010) on the other hand examined study habits and
academic achievement among the students belonging to scheduled caste and non-scheduled caste
group. The results revealed that sex has no significant impact on the study habits and academic
achievement of students.
Higginbotham (1999), examined the reading interests of middle school-sixth, seventh, and eighth
grade-students in a metropolitan, public school located in a southeastern state Atlanta, Georgia.
The result of this study showed differences in interest by gender, which are congruent with many
society’s 7 stereotypes, and females reported a stronger interest in Romance, Friendship, Animal
Stories, Adventure, and Historical Fiction, while the males reported stronger preferences for the
categories of Sports and Science. Also, the male respondents had a stronger preference for non-
fiction than did the female respondents.
Gallo (2007) said “books, yield their best to you, if you read them at the age at which each
particular masterpiece can ideally be chewed and digested”. There is little knowledge about the
everyday reading practices of tertiary education students and how these practices affect their
academic achievement. Everyday reading consists of individuals’ reading activities for a variety
of purposes, such as for relaxation or information (Issa. et al, 2012). They believes that from
middle childhood through adulthood, reading becomes a major component of studying, and
much information learned through studying is initially acquired through reading. Thus everyday
reading activities in which students engage may, considerably influence their studying skills and
subsequent academic performance. There is a general sense in which one appreciates the link
between good habits of reading and the academic performance of students generally, (Issa et al,
2012).
Guthrie, Benneth & McGough, (2007) believe that “reading” is the act of getting meaning from
printed or written words, which is the basis for learning and one of the most important skills in
everyday life. (Issa et al 2012) further explain that reading is usually associated with books as
only the written words provide a complete picture of the act of reading. It means that through
reading, the individual is able to build or fix things, enjoy stories, discover what others believe
and develop ideas or beliefs of their own. Thus, reading provides the key to all forms of
information necessary for our day-to-day survival and growth.
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