Abstract:
This study was designed to compare the reading habits of the Theology and Management students of St. Paul's University College Awka. The objectives of this study were to determine the demographic attributes of the reading habits of students of the two Faculties in St. Paul’s University College, Awka; to examine the attitudes of students in the two faculties towards academic and voluntary reading; the time the students of the two faculties spend on both academic and voluntary reading; the types of materials the students of the two faculties enjoy reading; the reading materials the students of the two faculties find relevant to their course of study and determine the factors students perceive as influencing their reading habits. Six research questions were posed to compare the attitudes of the students towards academic reading and voluntary reading and to examine factors that influence the reading habits of students. The research method used was comparative research survey design. A sample size of 497 of the Management and Theology Students was drawn using the proportional stratified sample technique; representing 10% population (213) from the Faculty of Management except in Theology where the entire population of 284 was used because it is the only department in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Questionnaire on the Comparative Study of the Reading Habits of Students was the instrument used for data collection. 213 copies of questionnaire were distributed to the students of Management and 213 (100%) were returned. While 284 copies were distributed to the students of Theology and 254 (89.4%) were returned. Data collected were analyzed using percentages, and mean scores calculated and presented on tables. Based on the analysis of data, the following findings emerged: Parental educational background of students assists the reading habits of students; students engage in academic reading because it helps them to excel in their studies; students prefer reading materials that are related to their course of studies to unrelated ones; students are interested in reading for their examination more than reading other things; students spend more time in academic reading than in voluntary reading. Furthermore, lack of conducive reading environment, access to books, equipped library and family background were found to be factors that influence the reading habits of students. It thereby recommended the encouragement of students to spend more time on both academic and voluntary reading; the provision of relevant materials for students in all Faculties, discouragement from reading only for examination purpose and improved funding for equipping the institutional libraries, with required reading resources.
