‘Reading Behavior of Dhaka University Students’
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1 Introduction: –
Reading doesn’t just happen; it is a skill must be nurtured from a child’s earliest years. Once children know how to read, they still need support to reach their full potential as readers. Reading behavior means to ameliorate the habit of reading books, journals, newspaper, biography, magazines or any kind of reading habit that a person develop in himself from the very beginning. Reading behavior can of different types, such as some may prefer reading story books, some may prefer reading text books, and some may prefer reading newspaper, journals, novels, magazines or biographies. Many may prefer to read in person or other may prefer in group. Students may prefer to go to libraries for reading books and other may prefer online reading. Reading is based on personal preferences moreover nature and contents of reading varies among students. Giving someone literacy skills is rather like teaching a person to drive and then giving them only a few drops of petrol to practice with – the machine is perfect and the driving skill has been acquired but it is not yet an automatic skill because there has not been enough practice. Once the fuel runs out the driving skill becomes useless and begins to deteriorate. Giving someone the reading habit, on the other hand, involves providing a continuous supply of easily processed fuel so that the new driver can go places, can get to enjoy driving and can eventually realize the limitless possibilities it opens up. The initial step is getting the driver to appreciate what exciting new trips the fuel makes possible so that he or she will search for more fuel when the current supply runs out. In other words it is necessary to provide students with enough easily accessible interesting reading materials to find reading so enjoyable that they themselves want to do more of it. Traditionally Dhaka University has the culture of having strong reading habits among the students. Public Library and Central library holds the year old culture of reading. But the culture of reading is now deteriorating.
1.2 Statement of the Problem: –
Reading is not a natural act; rather, reading is a cultural activity that has undergone profound changes since its inception. The study will help to find out how the advent of television and internet has a cascading effect on reading behavior of students. Students now prefer to see TV news rather than reading the newspaper and prefer to watch the television serials and channels like discovery, national geographic, etc, movies with the family more rather than sitting and reading books and other kind of reading materials in a closed room. As the technological advancement has made things so easy that everything is gettable with a finger tip as a result students are becoming less inclined to buy books or read materials because they think that when everything is available on internet then why you have to waste your money and time. A typical “screen–based reading behavior” is emerging due to rise of internet, characterized by more time spent on “browsing and scanning, keyword spotting, one–time reading, non–linear reading, and reading more selectively”, while less time is spent on in–depth reading, and concentrated reading. Students seldom read a scholarly article or book from beginning to end. Moreover, students can get any of the course related materials from internet which is making students to buy least amount of text books. Because of lack of outdoor activities students use their leisure time by surfing in internet, doing social networking rather than reading. Now movies are made out of any book that is remotely popular, or based on biography of some eminent public figures as a result students prefer to watch those then reading the authentic ones. Television and internet is responsible for manning student’s reading behavior. Besides, the desolate appearance of our Central library and Public Library tells all, when it comes to our reading habits. Poor environment in these libraries and halls are driving the students away from the reading culture. As a result expansion of knowledge and good command on language is now in the declining state. The ones that do read have a good hold of the language. The more we read, the more we gain. The study will help to find out the problems and how to deal with it as cultivating the habit of reading is very much important not only to develop ones intellectual capability but also to get a good command of a language and cognitive competency.
1.3 Literature Review: –
There is an extensive body of research that examines the reading performance and behaviors of students. Much of the research examines areas such as classroom reading instruction, interventions to improve student reading achievement, and student interest in and attitudes about the reading assigned. Less extensive, however, is the body of research that examines students reading behaviors. During the past fifteen years, several studies have used survey instruments to investigate and describe students reading behaviors (Hughes-Hassell and Rodge, 2007; Ivey and Broaddus, 2001; Poerschke, 2005).
Two national studies of Americans’ changing reading habits, published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), quantified the grounds for concerns that college and university educators have expressed in recent years based on their own anecdotal evidence from observing students. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America (2004) documented a decline in literary reading among adults in over two decades of longitudinal studies conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. More recently, To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence (2007), a collective analysis of previously published peer-reviewed research, sounded an alarm that not only were Americans less likely to read, but also they were less able to read skillfully and effectively.
Botswana’s reading culture has captured the attention of reading experts in the country for more than two decades. The survey reported involved 121 junior students (aged 12 to 15 years) from two private and two government-aided secondary schools. The results indicate that a majority of the students read during school holidays; that they engaged in both academic and leisure reading; that they read at home rather than at the library; and that their parents modeled reading behavior and bought those reading materials. Students’ responses further indicate that they understood the importance of reading and read not only for leisure or academic purposes, but also to please their parents and thus promote family harmony.
Reading Interest and Behavior in Middle School Students in Inner-city and Rural Settings a research conducted by Daphne Greenberg, Georgia State University Amanda Gilbert, Norcross High School Norcross GA, Laura Fredrick, Georgia State University shows that the middle school students show a significant lack of interest in reading and a lack of reading behavior. A limitation to the study was that we were not provided access to students’ individual racial/ethnic identities.
Television and Children’s Reading Behavior a research done by Susan B. Neuman stated that television and media innovation has displaces the reading behavior among children.
Most of the research misses out the environmental factor behind the decline of reading habit among students. Besides most of the research were conducted in foreign countries but no research has not been conducted in our country focusing on this issue. More extensive research is needed to show what the young brain is doing during reading. Ongoing research is needed on many aspects of the evolving reading habits of students over the coming years, as we continue to experience the revolutionary technological aspect on reading.
1.4 Objective of the Research: –
1. To find out the nature of students reading behavior.
2. To explore the contents that the students prefer to read.
3. To find out how much time does the students spend in reading.
4. To find out the how many students prefer online reading.
1.5 Research Questions: –
1. What is the nature of students reading behavior?
2. What contents do students prefer to read?
3. How much time do the students spend in reading?
4. Do students prefer online reading?
1.6 Hypothesis: –
1. Lack of outdoors to explore has made the students to spend more time on television and internet.
2. Mushrooming growth of technology is driving student away from ameliorating reading behavior.
3. Poor environment in DU halls, Libraries and Seminars has made the students to spend less time on reading.
4. Male students are less incline towards forming reading habit compared to female.
1.7 Theoretical Framework: –
Outdoor activities usually mean activities done in nature away from civilization. Due to small living spaces, and pleasure students are becoming more engulfed in TV and internet.
Mushrooming growth of technology means the growth in the area of technology. Nowadays, our lives are completely directed and influenced by technology which has changed people´s lifestyles. New advances in technology are being introduced at greater and greater speeds .Technology has made things a lot easier but, at the same time it also makes people a bit lazy. Today more and more students are relying on the web to do the work for them. This can range from copying and pasting. The mushrooming growth of technologies has driven student form developing reading behavior.
Poor environment means deterioration of healthy environment of reading due to lack of space, quality books, too much procedure in taking books from Central Library and lack of congenial environment for reading in halls and seminars is responsible for decline of reading culture among students.
Independent Variables Dependent Variable
1. Mushrooming Growth of Technology
Decline in the Reading
2. Poor Environment in Hall, Seminar or Library Behavior of Students
3. Lack of Outdoor Activities.
Motivation is very much important to drive the students back to the reading culture. Guthrie and Humenick (2004) in their meta-analysis of 22 experimental studies found that providing students with a purpose for reading, choices in what they read, an abundance of interesting texts, and time for social collaboration impacts reading motivation and engagement. So if no motivation for students to read books there will be less reading behavior among students.
1.8 Methodology: –
Our research will focus mostly on getting qualitative as well as quantitative data. In order to get qualitative data we will employ Semi-Structured Interview Method and Case study. The rationale of taking interview is to get a detail description from the different interviewees and to find the answers of research questions in detail. Secondary information will be taken from journals and websites.
Chapter two
An Overview of University of Dhaka
2.1 An Overview of University of Dhaka:-
On the first day of July 1921 the University of Dhaka opened its doors to students with Sir P.J. Hartog as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University. The University was set up in a picturesque part of the city known as Ramna on 600 acres of land.
The University started its activities with 3 Faculties, 12 Departments, 60 teachers, 877 students and 3 dormitories (Halls of Residence) for the students. At present the University consists of 13 Faculties, 66 Departments, 8 Institutes, 17 dormitories, 3 hostels and more than 35 Research Centres. The number of students and teachers has risen to about 33,112 and 1,805 respectively.
The main purpose of the University was to create new areas of knowledge and disseminate this knowledge to the society through its students. Since its inception the University has a distinct character of having distinguished scholars as faculties who have enriched the global pool of knowledge by making notable contributions in the fields of teaching and research.
The high standard of education and research for the University was set by its first Vice-Chancellor, Sir P.J. Hartog when in the 2nd Convocation address he said, “A man may be an excellent teacher of elementary subjects without the power to add to knowledge. But in advanced work I maintain that no one can really teach well unless he has the combination of imagination with critical power which leads to the original production (of knowledge), and for that if for no other reason, a university to be a true university must see that its teachers are men who are also capable of advancing knowledge.”
At the beginning a distinctive feature of the University of Dhaka was its nonaffiliating, residential character like that of the Oxford of England. However, since 1947 the University was given an affiliating mandate in place of an exclusive residential-cum-teaching character.
A new phase began in the history of the University with the emergence of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 1971. This has been a phase of development, expansion and consolidation of earlier gains. The University has assumed a central role in the academic pursuits of the region including this new nation. The University of Dhaka has passed through tumultuous times at different periods of our national history and played vital, at times pioneering, roles in all critical junctures in the making of this great nation. The University played a central role in the Language Movement of 1952 that ultimately culminated in the recognition of Bangla as the State Language. Scores of students, teachers and employees of the University of Dhaka laid down their lives for the independence of the country. Just after the creation of Bangladesh, the government proclaimed the University of Dhaka Order 1973 whereby democratic norms and autonomy became integral features of the institution
While serving as the highest echelon of academic excellence, the University also functions as a central premise for free thought and democratic practices that would lead the nation to its march towards progress. The University of Dhaka is increasingly striving to combine the pursuit of knowledge and truth with the values and needs of an evolving society. It is noteworthy that the Governor of Bengal and the Chancellor of the University of Dacca, Loard Lytton in his speech at the first Convocation of the University on 22 February, 1923 said “….this University is Dacca’s greatest possession, and will do more than anything else to increase and spread the fame of Dacca beyond the limits of Bengal or even of India itself”
Presently the University enrolls more than 5,800 students, on merit basis, in the first year Honours Program in different Departments of the Faculties and the Institutes. Besides conducting teaching courses in the 4- year Bachelor and 1-year Masters Programmes, the University also trains up a large number of researchers in different disciplines. More than 842 Ph.D. and 673 M.Phil. Researchers have obtained their degrees from this University.
The University of Dhaka is dedicated to the advancement of learning, and is committed to promoting research in all fields of knowledge. As there are plans for further expansion of facilities, plans for new avenues and opportunities, the course curricula are updated and new research projects are undertaken every year. As the pioneer and the largest seat of learning in the country, the University of Dhaka has taken the task to foster the transformation processes of the individual students and the country as a whole through its educational and research facilities keeping up with demands of the day. The University of Dhaka is at this moment one of the leading institutions of higher education in Asia.
The University of Dhaka is well prepared to meet the challenges of the future days with its spirit of freedom, justice and truth as a foundation concomitant to the objectives envisaged by the founding fathers.
The open-minded character of the University of Dhaka embodying the features of beauty and historical origins can be seen as one enters the campus (University of Dhaka, official website, Available at: http://www.du.ac.bd/the_university/index.php ).
Chapter three
Defining Reading Behaviour
3.1 Defining Reading Behavior:-
Reading behavior is often broadly defined as the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think critically. Research shows that being literate is closely linked to one’s ability to access power and negotiate the world around them. People need to develop reading behavior to communicate effectively, gain respect from peers and authority, participate in their communities in a meaningful way, and fully contribute to society. Building reading behavior, therefore, goes far beyond improving a person’s ability to read and write. It speaks to the larger societal issues of access and equity. In our society, being literate opens doors, allowing one to access power, and in many cases, helps to level the playing field.
Reading behavior helps students to learn, analysis, including the use of primary documents. Contemporary language arts standards call for students, at all ages, to read authentic literature across genres (e.g., novels, memoirs, interviews) and to write in various genres…. All of these opportunities provide potentially powerful contexts in which students can learn to interpret text and can learn how to learn from text.
Using teaching and learning strategies with content-specific texts, teachers enable students to gain more facility with literacy strategies as well as understand the subject matter better.
3.2 Important factors of reading behaviour:-
There are many important factors which can impact & improve or develop the reading behavior of a student such as: Motivation, reading environment, reading materials, fluency network connection, vocabulary, reading comprehension etc.
3.2.1 Motivation and engagement:-
Motivation and engagement are critical factors for providing meaningful learning opportunities to adolescents. Research shows that if students are not motivated to read, they will benefit very little from reading instruction.
Strategies:-
Paramount to the job of teaching is using strategies that have been shown to increase motivation, such as making reading relevant to students’ lives. By building on what students already know and believe and by being mindful of their goals and aspirations for their own futures, teachers can motivate students to want to read. In addition, teachers should supply reading materials that are age appropriate and appropriate to students’ reading abilities to help increase their motivation. Teaching strategies that increase motivation include activating prior knowledge through pre-reading exercises, teaching students to look for information while reading, and modeling self-monitoring techniques during reading (Guthrie and Wigfield, 2000).
3.2.2 Skills Related to the Alphabetic Principle-
Skills Related to the Alphabetic Principle, such as phonemic awareness, the ability to manipulate the sounds of oral language and phonics, and the relationship of letters to sounds, are often thought of as skills that need to be learned early to prevent reading difficulties later. However, about 10 percent of students enter middle and high school with reading problems that stem from not having mastered the alphabetic principle.
Strategies:-
There are teaching strategies that are effective with secondary students who struggle with word identification identification, including: direct instruction (Curtis and Chmelka, 1994; Curtis and McCart, 1992); instruction that focuses on high-frequency, sound-spelling relationships (Graham, Harris, and Loynachan, 1993; Blevins, 2001); instruction that offers ample opportunity to practice identification of words in context; and emphasis on making connections among word analysis, word recognition and semantics (Henry, 11990)
3.2.3 Fluency:-
Fluency is the ability to read quickly, accurately, and with appropriate expression, and research shows that good readers are fluent readers (Snow, 2002). Not surprisingly, students who are not fluent and read very slowly or focus on each word independently, have difficulty comprehending what they read.
Strategies:-
Research shows that teaching strategies, such as guided oral reading and repeated reading, help improve fluency and comprehension. Guided reading provides students with time to read independently, but also assures that students have significant support from their teacher, who models the use of various reading strategies. Repeated reading is a teaching technique that has students, particularly the most struggling students, re-read a passage until they can read it fluently.
3.2.4 Vocabulary size:-
Vocabulary size is one factor that can lead to large variations in reading ability. The differences between low and high vocabularies often contribute to the achievement gap that persists between different demographic groups. In fact, Hart and Risely (1995) report substantial differences between the vocabularies of students with low and high socioeconomic statuses (SES), finding that low SES students were exposed to about half the words that student of high SES encountered.
Strategies:-
Research shows that both direct, explicit instruction and learning from context while reading are important to increasing vocabulary and possibly helping to close the achievement gap. The National Reading Panel (NRP) suggested the following (NICHD, 2000):
• Repetition is essential for increasing vocabulary.
• Revising learning materials or designing instruction to meet the needs of learners often facilitates vocabulary learning more than simply asking students for the definition of a word.
• Vocabulary learning should entail teaching methods that promote active engagement in learning, such as having students make mental pictures of the definitions, act out definitions with charades, use the word in writing tasks, and actively attending to context clues to infer word meanings.
3.2.5 Reading Comprehension:-
Reading Comprehension is one of the most apparent deficits in students’ reading abilities at the secondary level. Most students who test “below basic” on NAEP seem to be missing this skill since, according to the NAEP rubric, even a “basic” level indicates that the student “can demonstrate a literal understanding of what they read” (2002). While some students acquire reading strategies relatively easily, many others are not able to develop effective reading strategies on their own (Bean, Singer, Sorter, & Frazee, 1986) and need reading comprehension instruction.
Two important components to improving students’ comprehension are prior knowledge and strategy instruction. The importance of having sufficient prior knowledge is well documented (Dole, Valencia, Greer, and Wardrop, 1991). Pre-reading activities can be used to connect material in a text to students’ own experiences and create a foundation for them to read text effectively. Such connections are often the basis for making inferences and predictions— two skills that NAEP uses to classify a student as “proficient”.
Some reading comprehension instruction is implicit, providing students with an opportunity to use strategies without directly telling them which strategy to use and how to use it. Asking students to write their ideas in a journal as they read is one example of implicit instruction. Other students, especially struggling readers and those with learning disabilities, require explicit instruction, in which teachers explain and model various strategies that successful readers use to promote comprehension.
Strategies:-
Through comprehension strategy instruction, students learn a set of useful “tools” that allow them to improve their reading comprehension. The NRP found research evidence for the efficacy of eight specific comprehension strategies.
• Comprehension monitoring is a metacognitive process by which readers decide whether or not they understand the text they are reading, and if they do not understand it, they learn to apply “fix-up” strategies as they are reading. These strategies include restating, looking back, and even looking ahead for clues that might help with comprehension (Bereiter and Bird, 1985).
• Cooperative learning allows students to learn while being engaged in the learning process with other students. In one research study, small groups of students translated content material from “teacher talk” to “kid talk” and showed gains in reading comprehension (Klinger, Vaughn, and Schumm, 1998).
• Graphic organizers are visual or spatial representations of text that teachers can use to help students understand text structure or arrange textual information in a way that makes recall easier. They can be used before, during, or after reading to improve comprehension. Using of graphic organizers after reading has shown improvement in students’ written summaries (Bean and Steenwyk, 1984).
• Story structure refers to the common components in a story or narrative text, of which some students already have complete knowledge, but others do not. Research shows that having knowledge of these components helps the reader comprehend stories better than not having such knowledge (Singer and Donlan, 1982).
• Question answering is one of the most prevalent forms of comprehension assessment, but it is also an effective comprehension strategy. An example is the Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) technique (Raphael and Pearson, 1985), in which students are taught that questions can be answered by referring to the text, as well as the information in one’s own knowledge and experience bank.
• Question generating is a technique in which students are taught to create (and then answer) their own questions about information in a text. It teaches students to think about text from a variety of perspectives and take ownership over their own learning.
• Summarization, as a strategy, requires students to identify the most important information in a text and eliminate redundant and unnecessary details. It also requires that students read and re-read text, which promotes greater comprehension. It is a widely used strategy, and research shows that it is enables students to be independent learners (Brown and Day, 1983).
• Several of the above strategies can be used together as a Multiple Strategy Approach. For example, Reciprocal Teaching (Palincsar and Brown, 1984) is an instructional strategy that utilizes multiple strategies, such as question generating, summarization, and vocabulary. In general, evidence suggests that teaching strategies in multiple combinations is superior to teaching strategies one at a time.
Chapter four
Dhaka University and Its reading culture
4.1 Dhaka University and Its reading culture:-
Here we will describe the overall reading behaviour of Dhaka University Students by dividing into different categories such as group study, library reading, seminar Reading, hall reading behavior, and online reading. We also provided photos of reading behaviors of the students. The photos were taken after taking permission from the subjects.
4.1.1 Group study:-
Picture 1: Some students are studying in a group in front of the Arts faculty
The students of university of Dhaka often study in a group. They study in a group generally when they have to do group assignment. Usually some friends form a group and discuss about their studies. The place of group study may be any where. The groups sit on campus area like at TSC, on the garden in front of the Arts faculty etc. Sometimes a group study turns into gossiping
4.1.2 Library reading:-
The students also read in the libraries. Many students go to library in the morning and returns to hall room at night. The libraries of Dhaka varsity are very calm and quiet. The students take down notes at the library. They read newspapers and find information from reference section situated on the ground floor of the main library building. The students also read in newspaper section.
Picture 2: Library reading Picture 3: Studying in newspaper section
4.1.3 Seminar Reading:-
The students read in the seminar libraries of their department. Every department has its own seminar library where the students can find their course related reading materials.
Picture 4: Seminar reading Picture 5: Reading in reading room of a hall
4.1.4 Hall Reading Behavior:-
Hall reading behaviour can be categorized into two types.
a) Reading in reading room
b) Reading in own room
a) Reading in reading room:-
The students often go to reading rooms for study. But reading rooms do not have any library. The students take preparation for exams in the reading rooms. They most often study in reading rooms with their friends.
b) Reading in own room:-
Picture 6: A student is reading in his own hall room
The students who stay in hall sometimes read in their own room. They get chairs and tables provided by the hall. They keep their books in small bookshelf. Most often the rooms remain very clumsy.
4.1.5 Online reading:-
Picture 7: Online reading in the Arts building Picture 8: reading at TSC cyber center
The varsity has its own Wi-Fi network. The students do not have to spend money for using Wi-Fi network. Many students browse on the corridor of TSC. The students also use internet in cyber centers of TSC and central library.
Chapter five
Data analysis, Case studies and Findings
5.1 Data analysis:-
Table 5.1 Total numbers of respondents in different year:-
| Year | No. of student |
| 1st year | 10 |
| 2nd year | 17 |
| 3rd year | 20 |
| 4th year | 51 |
| Masters | 32 |
| Total=130 |
Table 5.2 Ratio of male & female respondent:-
| Male | 69 | 53% |
| Female | 61 | 47% |
5.1.1 Q1) what do you prefer to do?
| Academic | 7 | 5.38% |
| Non -academic | 109 | 83.85% |
| Both(academic &non -academic) | 13 | 10% |
| Others | 1 | 0.77% |
Male respondent:-
From 130 respondents there were 69 male respondents & 61 female respondents.
| Academic | 17 | 24.64% |
| Non -academic | 45 | 65.22% |
| Both(academic &non -academic) | 6 | 8% |
| Others | 1 | 1.45% |
Female respondent:-
| Academic | 20 | 32.78% |
| Non-academic | 34 | 55.74% |
| Both | 7 | 11.48% |
| Others | 0 | 0% |
From our analysis it was found that most of the students like to read non academic reading materials. 109 of 130 respondents (83.85%) prefer to read many non academic reading materials like news papers, story books, magazines, articles from internet etc. From the opinions of our surveyed students it was revealed that they like to read newspapers. A main reason of it is most of the respondents stay at halls. They get newspapers at their reading room of their hall which is free of cost. So it is easier for them to read newspapers. They tend to read front pages of the newspapers, interesting news, news on recent political phenomena etc. They also like to read story books. Most of them like to read story books of popular writers like Humayun Ahmed, Mohammed Jafar Iqbal and Anisul Huq.
13 respondents out of 130 (10%) like to read both academic and non academic reading materials. It was noticed that the students who gets higher GPAs in their exams tend to read both academic and non academic materials.
Only 7 respondents (5.38%) told that they read only academic books and journals. The percentage is very low because according to the interviewees academic books are monotonous. Only 1 respondent (0.77%) read other kinds of books like jokes.
Both the male and female respondents read non academic materials more than other types of reading materials but the male students prefer reading non academic materials than the female respondents. The male respondents most often read newspapers. The tendency of reading story books is more seen among the female respondents. The rate of reading academic books is higher among the female respondents. The reason of this is that the female students tend to more be attentive in their academic studies. 11.48% female student read both non academic and academic books. This percentage among the male students is 8%. Only 1 male student reads reading material of other categories. No female student is seen in this section.
5.1.2 Question no. 2:-
Where do you prefer to read?
| Reading room(hall) | 16 | 12.31% |
| Library | 38 | 29.23% |
| Room (personal) | 61 | 46.92% |
| Others | 15 | 11.54% |
From our observation it was found that most of the surveyed students like to read in their personal rooms at hall or house (46.92%). The prime reason is that the respondents feel comfort to study in their rooms. The tendency of reading in personal room is more seen among the students who live in their own house. The respondents told that they like to read in their reading table. Some of them also mentioned that they prefer reading at their bed. Usually the respondents who read loudly prefer reading at their rooms. The respondents told that they can concentrate in their studies if they read at their room.
The next most preferred place for reading according to the respondents is library. The students who stay at halls prefer reading at central library of Dhaka University and at seminar libraries of their departments. According to them the silent environment of the library and availability of their course materials is the reason of why they choose to go library.
Only 12.31% like to read at reading rooms of halls. The reading rooms of halls do not provide enough facilities to read. Scarcity of enough is one of the reasons why the students do not like to read at reading rooms. The tendency of reading at the reading rooms of halls is more seen among the junior students. They prefer to read at reading rooms because there are limited number of reading tables and chairs at their rooms and most often the senior students read at hall rooms. 11.54% students like to read in some other places like corridors and veranda of their halls. Some students read on the hall garden. They like to walk around with their books and study. According to them it helps to memorize the reading topic faster.
69 male respondents:-
| Reading room(hall) | 12 | 17.39% |
| Library | 27 | 39.14% |
| Room (personal) | 21 | 30.43% |
| Others | 9 | 13.04% |
61 female respondents:-
| Reading room(hall) | 4 | 6.56% |
| Library | 11 | 18.03% |
| Room (personal) | 40 | 65.57% |
| Others | 6 | 9.84% |
From our observation it was noticed that the male respondents prefer reading at library than the female respondents. Because most of the male respondents reside at halls. Another reason is that the male respondents who are taking preparation for BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) exam tend to study at library and they study in a group.
The female students most often like to study at their personal rooms. The female students who live with their family generally read at their personal rooms. The female respondents who live in halls like to read at their rooms because there are adequate numbers of reading tables and chairs for them.
5.1.3 Question no. 3:-
Daily how much time do you spend reading?
| Time(hours) | Frequency | X | fx |
| 11-12 | 5 | 11.5 | 57.50 |
| 10-11 | 6 | 10.5 | 63 |
| 8-9 | 8 | 8.5 | 68 |
| 6-7 | 18 | 6.5 | 117 |
| 4-5 | 31 | 4.5 | 139.50 |
| 2-3 | 35 | 2.5 | 87.50 |
| 0-1 | 27 | 0.5 | 12.50 |
| ?f=130 | ?fx=546 |
Average=?fx/n
=546/130
=4.2(hour daily)
The surveyed respondents study more or less 4 hours each day. This average signifies that the students of university of Dhaka have a decent reading culture. They have to study their course materials, reference books and have to take down lecture notes. After introducing semester system in most of the departments the students have to study regularly as they have to appear at more exams in the semester system. They also have to do study for their assignments, research works and class room presentations. The amount of hours of reading varies from time to time. The students read more at the time of their examinations and. They also spend their time by reading newspapers, posts on social networking sites like Facebook, magazines, story books etc.
Male:-
| Time(hours) | Frequency | X | fx |
| 11-12 | 1 | 11.5 | 11.5 |
| 10-11 | 1 | 10.5 | 10.5 |
| 8-9 | 2 | 8.5 | 17 |
| 6-7 | 6 | 6.5 | 39 |
| 4-5 | 11 | 4.5 | 49.5 |
| 2-3 | 25 | 2.5 | 62.5 |
| 0-1 | 23 | 0.5 | 11.5 |
| N=69 | ?fx=201.5 |
Average=?fx/N
=201.5/69
=2.92(hour daily)
Female:-
| Time(hours) | Frequency | X | fx |
| 11-12 | 4 | 11.5 | 46 |
| 10-11 | 5 | 10.5 | 52.5 |
| 8-9 | 6 | 8.5 | 51 |
| 6-7 | 12 | 6.5 | 78 |
| 4-5 | 20 | 4.5 | 90 |
| 2-3 | 10 | 2.5 | 25 |
| 0-1 | 4 | 0.5 | 2 |
| N =61 | ?fx=344.5 |
Average =?fx/N=344.5/61=5.65 (hours daily)
The male respondents of Dhaka varsity tend to read 3 hours daily. And the female respondents read almost 6 hours. The tendency of reading is less among the male students because most of them stay at halls and most of them are involved in student politics. According to the male interviewees they have to spend much time in political processions, meetings and seminars. The male respondents spend more time with their friends by gossiping. Again another reason of less reading time is that many of them are involved in extra curricular activities like some of them are members of Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS), Dhaka University Debating Society (DUDS) Dhaka University Tourism Society (DUTS). They have to volunteer in these organizations. Most of the male answerers have their own income source. Like many of them are home tutors. Many of them do part time jobs. They have to bear their expenses because of financial crisis of their family. Thus the male students get less time for studying.
The female respondents of our research told that they read approximately 6 hours a day. According to them they do not get any work to do at their halls or house so they read. Another reason is that the female students are not very much involved in political or extra curricular activities like the male students. They stay more time at their halls or house. Some respondents answered that they can not memorize quickly thus they have to read more.
5.1.4 Question no. 4:-
Do you prefer online reading?
Yes saying students:-
| Year | Number of yes saying student | Percentage of Yes saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
9
15 19 42 20 |
80.76% |
Total =105
80.76% of total 130 students told that they like to read online. The tendency of online reading is more present among the respondents who are senior i.e. the students of 3rd year, 4th year and Master’s. They prefer online reading because of easy availability of required data on the internet. They can get sufficient information by browsing various websites. Some respondents of 4th year and Master’s level mentioned that they do not find necessary information at the libraries so they have to depend on online reading. Many of them stated that the varsity administration is now trying to provide advanced internet facilities by introducing Wi-Fi internet networks at halls and at TSC. The students have free access to this facility. The senior respondents like to read online because many of them have their own laptops and they find it very effective to search on the internet about their desired information.
The respondents who are junior students i.e. the students of 1st year and 2nd year prefer online reading because they can easily find the data on the internet and they find it problematic to go to the library. Another reason is that online reading saves their time. Most often the junior students go to Cyber center of TSC and central library to use internet. They buy internet cards which cost Tk. 60 and provide 300 minutes usage.
B. no saying students:-
| Year | Number of no saying student | Percentage of No saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
1
4 2 10 8 |
19.24% |
| Total=25 |
Only 19.24% of total 130 respondents said no about online reading. They consider online reading is harmful because they students are not likely study more. It affects the culture of reading and going to library. The senior students think that the students should do more library work rather than be dependent on internet. They stated that the students are now giving less time in studying because of rapid use of internet. They also told that internet hampers creativity of the students. The students do not give their efforts in studying as it has become easier to find data. According to some senior respondents the students have become very much dependent on internet in doing their assignments and simply copy the information from websites and PDF files without changing a word and put them in their assignments. This type of ‘’copy-paste’’ culture deteriorating the reading habit of the students.
The junior students gave negative answers because some of them came from rural background and do not even know how to use the internet. Many of them told that they are not satisfied with the internet service provided in the university. Many respondents told that whenever they browse internet to find some important information they spend more time on social networking sites rather than their required websites. Some respondents told that they do not like to use internet because they can not find their wanted information from internet.
Male students:-
| Yes | 53 | 76.81% |
| No | 16 | 32.19% |
Female students:-
| Yes | 52 | 85.25% |
| No | 9 | 14.75% |
From our observation it was found that 76.81% male students prefer online reading. Only 32.19% do not prefer. Again 85.25% female students prefer online reading. 14.75% do not. The rate of female students who like to collect information from internet is higher than the male students because they can surf the net from their hall or house and do not have to go to libraries.
5.1.5 Question 6:-
Do you think that Dhaka University’s Halls, seminars & Libraries provide congenial environment for reading?
a. Yes:-
| Year | Number of yes saying student | Percentage of yes saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
3
9 9 20 14 |
42.31% |
| Total =55 |
Only 42.31% respondents out of 130 think that the varsity halls, seminars and libraries provide congenial environment for reading. The number of yes saying students is 55. They like to study at the library of the varsity. They hold a positive approach towards the libraries of the varsity. They mainly go to the main library building and science library building. They think that the central library has a sound environment for studying academic books, journals and documents. They are satisfied with the services provided by the libraries. The library provides Reading room facilities, book lending facilities, online public access catalogue, digital borrower’s ID card, internet facilities Reference services, journal/online journal and news paper facilities, reprographic facilities like photocopy, microfilm and CD, resource center for sight savers. The library reader’s service is open from Saturday to Friday. The Library remains open from Saturday to Wednesday at 8 am to 9pm. On Thursday the Library remains open from 8 am to 5 pm and on Friday at 3.00 pm to 8 pm. It also remains open during vacations like summer vacation in June. So the respondents can have frequent access to the library.
The students who go to central library usually read there in evening. Some of them go there in the morning and do study till night. The senior students who take preparation for BCS exams, most often prefer studying in the main library building. The junior students like to go there and most of them remain busy in studying academic and their course related matters.
The respondents also think positive regarding reading facility of seminar libraries and reading rooms of halls. Every department has its own library room which is called seminar. The seminars only keep books and compendiums of respective department and reference books like encyclopedia. The teachers tend to refer books which are available at seminars. The respondents can easily find their required books from seminars. The surveyed respondents also informed that the hall reading rooms provide reasonable environment for reading. The students can go any time to the reading room and read till late night. The senior respondents have their fixed table in reading rooms where they go to read.
b. No:-
| Year | Number of no saying student | Percentage of no saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
7
8 11 31 18 |
57.69% |
| Total =75 |
But most of our respondents (57.69%) are not pleased with the services provided by the library. Some respondents told that most of the books are obsolete and out of date. They do not focus on current practices of many disciplines like science, arts and commerce. The respondents argued that they have to read faded, worn-out books in the library. According to them the library administration is indifferent in providing facilities to the students. The administration does not bring new books on up to date issues. The respondents are also dissatisfied with the library management. They told that the digital database of books is not sufficient enough to meet their needs. They also claimed that the procedure of borrowing books from the library is very much problematic and complex. They told that procedure of getting borrower’s ID card or library card is lengthy. If the library card of any student is lost he has to face many troubles in getting a new library card. Some respondents admitted that the physical environment of the library is not enough satisfactory. The tables and chairs are old and affected with wood mite. So the students do not find comfort in the library. The students told that the library should remain open 24 hours. The students also claimed that the seminar libraries do not provide much facility. Sometimes the librarians remain absent. As a result the students can not access when they need to study. They told that the seminars remain open for a little time only for 2-4 hours.
Male:-
| Yes | 30 | 43.48% |
| No | 39 | 56.52% |
Female:-
| Yes | 25 | 40.98% |
| No | 36 | 59.01% |
Both of the male and female students hold similar view regarding reading facilities of library, halls and seminars. The female students told that 43.48% male and 40.98% female students are satisfied with the environment. The number of no saying students is higher in case of both male and female. 56.52% male and 59.01% female are not satisfied with the facilities. The female students seem to be more dissatisfied than the male students. They told that they sometimes feel uneasy in reading at library because there remain more male students in the library. They told that there should be separate sitting arrangement for female students in the library.
5.1.6 Question no. 7:-
Lack of outdoor activities is making students to become more confined on technology do you agree with that?
a. yes
| Year | Number of yes saying student | Percentage of yes saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
9
15 15 37 21 |
74.62% |
| Total =97 |
As shown in the table 74.62% respondents think that lack of outdoor activities is making the students more confined on technology. Out of 130 interviewees 97 agreed with it. In the past the students used to involve in many kinds of extra curricular activities but at present this rate has decreased. Their entertainment has become technology based. Earlier they used to go to libraries of their locality and read or hire books to enrich their knowledge. They used to play different types of outdoor games like football, cricket. Sometimes the youngsters used to arrange many cultural functions in their neighborhoods. The students earlier liked to participate in social works. They used to go to library for collecting information for their studies. The students in the past used to attend intellectual seminars, symposiums or conferences, participate in debate competition etc. But these activities have been in recent times. They are now very much dependent on technology. They listen to songs in mobile phones, chat with friends in yahoo messenger and Facebook, watch TV for long time, play video games in computer and seek their intended study materials on different web addresses- these all they do.
b. no
| Year | Number of no saying student | Percentage of no saying student |
| 1st year
2nd year 3rd year 4th year Master’s |
1
2 5 14 11 |
25.38% |
| Total =33 |
However, 25.38% of our interviewees think that the scenario is not too bad as it is thought to be. Among our total 130 interviewed students only 33 are in this group. They think that the students of university of Dh