The Attitude of Secondary School Students toward Reading in the Light of some Variables

(Ibrahim bin Salem Abbati)

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Abstract

Reading is one of the most important factors affecting the intellectual, emotional, and social growth of learner. It plays a great role in developing education, culture, and society. The current research aimed at identifying the attitude of Saudi teenager toward reading and achievement in Arabic language in the light of some demographic variables (gender, grade, and cultural background). To achieve this, a scale for attitude towards reading was designed and its psychometric properties were calculated. The study sample consisted of three hundred and twenty male and female students from the first and third secondary grades from different rural and urban cultural backgrounds with an arithmetic average age of 16.9 years. The results indicated that there are statistically significant differences in the attitude toward reading, according to the variables of gender in favor of male students. Differences also occurred for the studious year in favor of third secondary grade, and for cultural background in favor of urban background. Moreover, there is an interaction between gender with studious year and background in favor of third secondary male urban students. The results also revealed that there are a positive correlation between the attitude toward reading and achievement in the Arabic language. The results were interpreted according to the theoretical framework and practical research results. The study recommended the importance of orientation and positive attitudes towards the development of this skill in addition to practice and training. Key Words: Attitude towards reading, Demographic variables, Secondary stage.
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