The reading habits of University students

Abstract

This study examines the reading habits of university students in Malta. Oguz et al. (2009) state that the reading habits of student teachers are essential. This study primarily focuses on the reading habits of student teachers enrolled in the Faculty of Education, who are then compared with the rest of the university students. A quantitative method was used to ensure a representative sample size. The sample for the questionnaire included enough students to satisfy 95% confidence level requirements. The sample size comprised a total of 702 university students: 582 university students from other faculties other than that of the Faculty of Education and 120 students from the Faculty of Education (of whom 81 were student teachers). University students do not read at length neither for studies nor for pleasure, even though they are aware of the importance of reading. The results uncover many similarities and differences between the habits of student teachers and other students. However, overall, students from the Faculty of Education tend to have weaker reading habits when compared to students of other faculties. The research question driving this study asks: What are the reading habits of university students?