Library Herald Year : 2014, Volume : 52, Issue : 1 First page : ( 40) Last page : ( 56) Print ISSN : 0024-2292. Online ISSN : 0976-2469. Article DOI : 10.5958/j.0976-2469.52.1.004
Emami Maryam1, Riahinia Nosrat2
1MA Student, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: emamim@ymail.com
2Full Professor, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: sara_purriahi@yahoo.com
Abstract
The current study aims at evaluating reading development and parents’ participation as well as identifying the relevant barriers and challenges in state secondary schools of Alborz Province of Iran. A descriptive-analytic method was used in the present study. The statistical population included all the female students at the state secondary schools of Alborz Province. Among the four educational areas, the schools in the third and fourth areas were randomly selected as the sample. The findings indicated that all the schools under the study had library and more than half of the students (53.69%) were members of either the school library or the other public libraries all over the city. It was found that personal interest in book and reading were the main impetus for their reading and going to the library. It was also found that first parents, then peers, teachers, library staff and finally the school principals were the main incentives for the students’ reading. The findings demonstrated that numerous pieces of homework act as the main barrier for the development of reading culture among the students. The best solution in order to enhance the reading level might be denoting books and introducing them in the mass media. Results show that the reading status among state secondary school students in Alborz Province is rather undesirable. In this regard, both parents and educational system are required to play a more active role and take more serious actions in order to enhance the reading level among the students as the future planners of our country.