By Dr James Ogom Odu & Dr Faith Sylvester Orim
Abstract
The study sought to ascertain the suitability of environmental factors (the home, school and library) in promoting reading habits among students of the Cross River State College of Education, Akamkpa. Survey research design was adopted in this study which population consists of registered library users in the 2016/2017 academic session. A total of 1,317 students registered in the library. The stratified sampling and accidental sampling techniques were adopted while questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. 20% of the registered library users were sample for study, giving a sample size of 265 respondents. The data obtained was analyzed using simple percentages (%). The study found that students perceived reading principally as a venture needed to pass examination and to respond to the desires of their parents. The study also revealed that a weak home environment does not encourage reading habits in students, as 99.8 % of the respondents were from homes without a library, 70.9% were from homes where parents do not read, while 67.9 % were from homes where there are no reading materials apart from students’ books while 54.0% were from homes where parents do not encourage children to read. It was recommended in the study that Parents should create a good environment for reading by encouraging their children and wards to read, they should create time to read as a source of motivation for the children to emulate. Government and school owners should endeavor to have libraries in schools, acquire the right resources to support the curriculum contents, recruit professional librarians and accommodate reading hour in the school time table.