Original Research

An assessment of the reading motivation skills of Nigerian primary school teachers: Implications for language and science education

Foluso Okebukola, Tunde Owolabi, Beatrice O.A. Onafowokan
Reading & Writing | Vol 4, No 1 | a33 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/rw.v4i1.33 | © 2013 Foluso Okebukola, Tunde Owolabi, Beatrice O.A. Onafowokan | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 25 February 2013 | Published: 03 September 2013

About the author(s)

Foluso Okebukola, Department of Language, Arts and Social Science Education, Lagos State University, Nigeria
Tunde Owolabi, Department of Science and Technology Education, Lagos State University, Nigeria
Beatrice O.A. Onafowokan, Teacher Education Department, St. Augustine’s College of Education, Nigeria

Abstract

Recent studies and frequent news reports have expressed concerns about African children’s decreasing reading habits and dwindling achievement in language and primary science examinations. African children are not reading because they have reading difficulties or because they have no interest in books. This article focuses on the elementary schooling years, when the ability to read and comprehend and the love of reading are developed, using Nigeria as a case study. The article begins with a review of the literature on reading that underscores the importance of nurturing and supporting good reading habits amongst African children. Following a cursory exposition of the categories of schools in Nigeria and the place of reading and science in the National Policy on Education, the remainder of the article presents the findings of a study conducted to assess the reading motivation skills of primary school teachers and illustrates pedagogical ways of developing good reading habits amongst African children. Implications for language and science education are discussed.

Keywords

Motivational skills; Reading; Implications

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Crossref Citations

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Tuula Keinonen, Thelma de Jager
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doi: 10.1080/1046560X.2017.1378055