CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-depth

search done by the researchers. This will also present the synthesis of the art, theoretical and

conceptual framework to fully understand the research to be done and lastly the definition of

terms for better comprehension of the study.

Foreign Literature

According to recent research, there is a strong relationship between the amount of out-of-

school reading a student engages in and his or her success in school in reading (Anderson,

Fielding, & Wilson, 1988; Stanovich, 1986; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990; Walberg & Tsai,

1984). This relationship reveals the importance of investigating why so few children choose to

read outside-of-school. The purpose of this study was to investigate why some children choose to

read out-of-school and others do not, focusing not only on factors that contribute to intermediate

grade students' decisions to read, but also on the students' perspectives about these factors.

The results of this study revealed several significant factors related to the decision to read. Using

regression analysis, three of the variables studied proved to be statistically significant: self-

concept as a reader, television viewing, and organized activities. The qualitative data helped to

further explain factors related to voluntary reading. Children who came from homes where

voluntary reading was promoted had parents who read aloud to them, modeled reading

themselves for recreational purposes, recommended good books, and discussed books at home

that they and their children were reading. It was also discovered through these same interviews

that student who were in schools where they were given opportunities to read self-selected

materials and were given access to materials that they were personally interested in reading were

more likely to engage in voluntary reading than those in classrooms where these practices were

not evident. This study also found that caution should be taken when relying on external rewards

to motivate and promote voluntary reading.

Gupta (1987) studied relationship between locus of control, anxiety, personality traits, level of

aspiration and academic achievement of secondary school students with the objective to assess

the magnitude and direction of relationship of locus of control, anxiety, personality traits, level

of aspiration with academic achievement by taking a sample of 670 students of average

intelligence drawn from a population of 3780 students of class XI of Hindi medium school of

Allahabad city and found that locus of control, anxiety, level of aspiration was correlated

negatively with academic achievement; socio economic status had significant positive correlation

with academic achievement; boys were high achievers, more internally controlled and less

anxious than girls.

Students’ spare time was occupied by activities such as watching television, playing sports,

going out with friends, doing chores and playing video games. The authors conjectured that this

was most likely due to lack of reading material in the home and lack of interest in the reading

material selected by the teacher. The development of positive attitudes towards reading has been

closely linked with sustained reading throughout a child’s academic career and beyond. (Kush &

Watkins, 1996)

Although many educators deem students’ attitudes towards reading important, little time is a

spent advancing positive reading attitude in public schools. Correspondingly, the way a teacher

rates a student’s attitude towards reading does not always reflect the way that student actually

feels about reading. The teacher’s rating is often shaped by how well the student reads and,

presumably, the material the student is asked to read. We chose to investigate why so few

children choose to read outside of school because understanding this phenomenon can help

encourage teachers and parents to support the routine of reading outside of school, considering

that it can promote academic success. The purpose of our study is to examine why some children

voluntarily read outside of school and others do not. In doing this, we focused on the dynamics

that influence the students’ decisions to read and also their perspectives of these factors.

Investigations have led to the conclusion that recreational reading habits are acquired early in an

individual’s life. (Casey & Wilson, 2007)

Foreign Studies

School context should be considered as a source of both inputs and constraints. At the same time

school context is essentially a generator of the desired school outputs, in the sense of the goals of

schooling. An example of a school output is the average achievement on a test in one or more

basic subjects at a certain grade level. Another example, more an attainment than an achievement

indicator, would be the proportion of students who obtained a diploma without any delay such as

repeating a grade. However, school outputs are not limited to student achievement, but can also

have a longer-term impact on society.

School processes are hierarchical (both by school and classroom levels) and sit within the

national education structure. An example of a process variable at the school level is the degree of

co-operation within the school, or the degree to which school leadership is instruction oriented

(so-called “instructional leadership”). Examples of such variables from PISA 2000 include

disciplinary climate and achievement press.1 an example of a process variable at the classroom

level is the amount of teaching time spent on a particular subject.

From birth to age eighteen, children spend just a fraction of their lives in school. Thus it is not

surprising that many factors outside the school environment can significantly influence students'

prospects for academic success in school. These factors are in play both during the years before

children begin formal schooling and while they are actually enrolled in elementary and

secondary school.

A diverse array of issues, including (but not limited to) parents' beliefs and expectations about

education; the availability and quality of child care; family economic status; the persistence, or

absence, of violence in a child's life; access to social services; physical and mental health issues;

opportunities for constructive, healthy activities outside of school; and the nature and strength of

school-community connections, can make a difference in a child's opportunities to do well in

school.

Every child has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many children,

especially those from poor and minority families, are placed at risk by school practices that

are based on a sorting paradigm in which some students receive high-expectations instruction

while the rest are relegated to lower quality education and lower quality futures. The sorting

perspective must be replaced by a “talent development” model that asserts that all children

are capable of succeeding in a rich and demanding curriculum with appropriate assistance and

support.

Read more: Out-of-School Influences and Academic Success - Background, Parental Influence,

Family Economic Status, Preparing for School, Physical and Mental Health -

StateUniversity.com http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2306/Out-School-Influences-

Academic-Success.html#ixzz31Ibp6mTy

References

Casey, L., & Wilson, J. (2007). Understanding the Recreational Reading Patterns of Secondary

Students. Reading Improvement, Mar 22, 40-48.

Fowles Mates, B., & Teran Strommen, L. (2004). Learning to Love Reading: Interviews With

Older Children and Teens. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(No. 3), 188-200.

Hughes-Hassell, S., & Rodge, P. (2007). The Leisure Reading Habits of Urban Adolescents.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51(No. 1), 22-88.

Kush, J., & Watkins, M. (1996). Long-Term Stability of Children's Attitude Toward Reading.

The Journal of Educational Research, 89(May/June), 315-319.

Mckool, S. (2007). Factors That Influence the Decision to Read: An Investigation of Fifth Grade

Students' Out-of-School Reading Habits. Reading Improvement, 44(No. 3), 111-131.

Shann, M. (2001). Students' Use of Time Outside of School: A case for After School Programs

for Urban Middle School Youth. The Urban Review, 33(No. 4), 339-355.