Promoting reading culture in Nigerian children through teacher/librarians collaboration: A case study of selected secondary schools in Iseyin Central Local Government Area of Oyo State

Abstract

t is commonly agreed that a country cannot be fully developed without large-scale investment in her educational scheme since the breakthrough of a country is directly related to her educational level. Since the acquisition of effective reading skills has a positive effect on all school subjects, then reading is an indispensable element for human capital and global development. Yet, it has been observed that many Nigerians today have a poor reading habit. Thus, this paper focuses on promoting reading culture in Nigerian children through teacher/librarian collaboration. Descriptive survey research was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprises of one thousand, seven hundred (1700) of the junior secondary school (JSS 1 – JSS 3) students, teachers, principals and teacher librarian in all the selected secondary schools in Iseyin Central Local Government Area of Oyo State. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistic of frequency counts and percentage. It was discovered that most of the school libraries established were substandard and children were not interested in reading. The paper is concluded with suggestions that the establishment and provision of functional libraries should be established in strategic parts of the country, both in schools, public areas etc., the government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the publishing companies should embark on attitudinal change campaign using various media, in favour of good reading culture. Schools should ensure that their evaluation method be focused on utilizing the libraries and information acquired for students’ assignments, debates, projects etc. for reading. Parents should also encourage their children to develop a good reading culture from infancy.