Impact of Students’ Reading Preferences on Reading Achievement

Yamina Bouchamma¹, Vincent Poulin², Marc Basque³, Catherine Ruel⁴

¹Department of Foundations and Practices in Education, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.
²Sector of Education, Kinesiology and Recreation,Moncton University,Edmundston, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2013.48070                

Abstract

The reading preferences of 13-year-old boys and girls were examined to identify the factors determining reading achievement. Students from each Canadian province and one territory (N = 20,094) completed a questionnaire on, among others, the types of in-class reading activities. T-test results indicate that the boys spent more time reading textbooks, magazines, newspapers, Internet articles and electronic encyclopedias, while the girls read more novels, fiction, informative or nonfiction texts, and books from the school or local libraries. Logistical regression shows that reading achievement for both sexes was determined by identical reading preferences: reading novels, informative texts, and books from the school library, as well as level of interest in the class reading material and participation in the discussions on what was read in class.

Keywords

Academic Achievement; Reading; Reading Preferences; Gender; Teaching Methods

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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