Assessment of reading habits of national open university of Nigeria students in Abuja

Abstract

This paper examined the reading habits of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) students. Participants in the study were 500 NOUN students that were randomly selected from Abuja study centre. A well designed questionnaire on reading habits (RHQ), validated by experts in the field was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using Chi square (? 2) and simple frequencies. Result shows that 66% of NOUN students see reading as their best hobby. Result also shows that 73% establish a specific purpose for reading while reading. There is also a significant difference in frequencies of the responses of male and female students. Only 49% of NOUN students read for leisure. A general recommendation was made to the ministry of education in Nigeria to make reading a subject of its own which should be made compulsory and seriously taught from primary school to the university level. In the case of NOUN, seminars and workshops on reading should be organized at the beginning of each academic section.

Key Words: Reading, Habit, Culture, NOUN, Leisure, Reading, Literacy