A SYNOPSIS REPORT

ON

“Reading Habits Among Students and

its Effect on Academic Performance of
Higher Secondary School Students”

By

ARUSHI RAJPUT
Enrollment No. - ____________

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of

____________

Submitted to

1
2
Date of Submission: ______
ABSTRACT

The study sought to assess the reading habits among students and
their effects on their academic performance. The study was conducted
in __________________. A questionnaire was used for the data
collection. The data collected were analyzed quantitatively. Figures
and tables were used to present the results of findings. From the total
of 100 copies of questionnaire distributed, 60 copies, were filled and
returned. The findings showed that majority of the respondents
acknowledge the importance of reading, some of the respondents
neither read novel nor fiction within the last two semesters while a
portion of the respondents only read for the purpose of passing
examination. The study confirmed that reading habit has influence on
academic performance and there is a relationship between reading
habit and academic performance. The study recommended among
others that lecturers should be advised to stop providing handouts to
students but rather encourage them to use the library for research and
also, the current system of assessing students should be given a
second thought with respect to the formulae of assessment.

Keywords: Reading Interest, Academic Performance, Academic

Libraries, Students.
INTRODUCTION
Reading habits are well-planned and deliberate pattern of study which
has attained a form of consistency on the part of students toward
understanding academic subjects and passing at examinations.
Reading habits determine the academic achievements of students to a
great extent.
Both reading and academic achievements are interrelated and
dependent on each other. Students often come from different
environments and localities with different levels of academic
achievement. Therefore, they differ in the pattern of reading habits.
While some students have good reading habits, others tend to exhibit
poor reading habits. Academic achievement means how much
knowledge the individual has acquired from the school.
Reading makes way for a better understanding of one’s own
experiences and it can be an exciting voyage to self-discovery.
“Reading habit is best formed at a young impressionable age in
school, but once formed it can last one’s life time.
Reading and academic achievement are essential for research workers
and educationists to know that every child whether he or she is gifted,
average, normal or backward etc, should be educated in his or her
own way but if he or she possesses good study habits, he or she can
perform well in academics and in every situation. It is the reading
habits which help the learner in obtaining meaningful and desirable
knowledge. Good reading habits act as a strong weapon for the
students to excel in life.
English medium schools almost always demanded extra reading from
their students. But all these have become a thing of the past.
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.
So, learning how to study or to develop good study habits is a lifelong
process, and one should be ready to modify one’s method of study
according to the need of the time. The development of good study
habits is the highway to the goals of an individual, whatever they are.
A simple, small change in study habits makes a big difference in goal
setting and organization of one’s life.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In order to improve the quality of education we must develop certain
innovative strategies, which will enhance the educational standards.
In addition to that from the student’s side there must be some
important steps, which form the basis for their academic achievement.
Students’ needs, requirements, abilities, capabilities, their pattern of
studying etc. have been neglected for a long time and they were
forced to learn the same thing, by the same method, by the same
person in the same environment. Not only is it important that teachers
recognize these diversities in their students, but also it is desirable that
they value their study habits. Otherwise, even if appropriate strategies
are developed and made available to teachers, there may be little
proof of gain in the students. Our educational institutions should take
into account basic human differences in their studying, thinking etc.,
to seek better means of individualized instruction for more effective
studying.
Here I thought that student’s academic achievement and their
excellence in studies depends mainly on their reading habits, which is
very much influential in their learning process. Hence, I have tried to
explore the relationship between reading habits and academic
achievement of the higher secondary students.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problem most students have that contributes to their poor
performance in tests and examinations is lack of proper reading
habits. For an excellent performance, there is the need for the student
to form good reading and study habits. At present, due to the
influence of the mass media, people do not show much interest in
reading books; magazines and journals.
Today, many students prefer to watch movies and other shows on the
television, listening to audio-CDs, watching video-CDs, among others
(Issa, 2012). Many parents and teachers complain about students of
our generation who have not developed reading habits among
themselves.
The net result is the poor performance of many students in final
examinations. One of the many issues confronting students nowadays
is perhaps, not their inability to read but their lack of interest. Here,
the work was conducted to examine the reading habits among
students and the effects on their academic performance
Reading Habits defined as “the sum of all the habits, determined
purposes and enforced practices that the individual uses in order to
read”.
Academic Achievement refers to the marks scored in the quarterly
examination by the XI (+1) and XII (+2) standard students.
Higher Secondary the students studying the higher secondary course,
i.e., XI and XII standards after completion of their SSC/ 10th
standard.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The general objective of the research is to assess the reading habits of

students and how it affects their performance. The specific objectives
are as follows:
 To examine the reading habits (styles) among students.
 To assess the effect of reading habits on students’ performance.
 To examine the material students read when they visit the
library.
 To ascertain why students, engage in reading.
 To ascertain the relationship between reading habit and
academic performance.
Research questions
The objectives were achieved based on finding answers to the
following research questions:
 What are the reading habits among students?
 Does reading habit have effect on academic performance?
 Is there a relationship between (Students’) reading habits and
academic performance?
 What kind of materials do students read when they visit the
library?
 Why do students engage in reading?
METHODOLOGY
Survey method with the use of questionnaire was used for data
collection. Copies of questionnaire were administered on students of
___________________of the _______academic year. The survey
method to find out the relationship between reading habits and
academic achievement of higher secondary students. The population
for the present study consisted of higher secondary students studying
in ____________.
From the total of fifty copies of questionnaire distributed, 46 copies
were filled and returned, representing a response rate of 80.0%.

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