CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-depth
search done by the researchers. This will also present the synthesis of the art, theoretical and
conceptual framework to fully understand the research to be done and lastly the definition of
terms for better comprehension of the study.
Foreign Literature
According to recent research, there is a strong relationship between the amount of out-of-
school reading a student engages in and his or her success in school in reading (Anderson,
Fielding, & Wilson, 1988; Stanovich, 1986; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990; Walberg & Tsai,
1984). This relationship reveals the importance of investigating why so few children choose to
read outside-of-school. The purpose of this study was to investigate why some children choose to
read out-of-school and others do not, focusing not only on factors that contribute to intermediate
grade students' decisions to read, but also on the students' perspectives about these factors.

The results of this study revealed several significant factors related to the decision to read. Using
regression analysis, three of the variables studied proved to be statistically significant: self-
concept as a reader, television viewing, and organized activities. The qualitative data helped to
further explain factors related to voluntary reading. Children who came from homes where
voluntary reading was promoted had parents who read aloud to them, modeled reading
themselves for recreational purposes, recommended good books, and discussed books at home
that they and their children were reading. It was also discovered through these same interviews
that student who were in schools where they were given opportunities to read self-selected
materials and were given access to materials that they were personally interested in reading were
more likely to engage in voluntary reading than those in classrooms where these practices were
not evident. This study also found that caution should be taken when relying on external rewards
to motivate and promote voluntary reading.

Gupta (1987) studied relationship between locus of control, anxiety, personality traits, level of
aspiration and academic achievement of secondary school students with the objective to assess
the magnitude and direction of relationship of locus of control, anxiety, personality traits, level
of aspiration with academic achievement by taking a sample of 670 students of average
intelligence drawn from a population of 3780 students of class XI of Hindi medium school of
Allahabad city and found that locus of control, anxiety, level of aspiration was correlated
negatively with academic achievement; socio economic status had significant positive correlation
with academic achievement; boys were high achievers, more internally controlled and less
anxious than girls.

Students spare time was occupied by activities such as watching television, playing sports,
going out with friends, doing chores and playing video games. The authors conjectured that this
was most likely due to lack of reading material in the home and lack of interest in the reading
material selected by the teacher. The development of positive attitudes towards reading has been
closely linked with sustained reading throughout a childs academic career and beyond. (Kush &
Watkins, 1996)

Although many educators deem students attitudes towards reading important, little time is a
spent advancing positive reading attitude in public schools. Correspondingly, the way a teacher
rates a students attitude towards reading does not always reflect the way that student actually
feels about reading. The teachers rating is often shaped by how well the student reads and,
presumably, the material the student is asked to read. We chose to investigate why so few
children choose to read outside of school because understanding this phenomenon can help
encourage teachers and parents to support the routine of reading outside of school, considering
that it can promote academic success. The purpose of our study is to examine why some children
voluntarily read outside of school and others do not. In doing this, we focused on the dynamics
that influence the students decisions to read and also their perspectives of these factors.
Investigations have led to the conclusion that recreational reading habits are acquired early in an
individuals life. (Casey & Wilson, 2007)
Foreign Studies
School context should be considered as a source of both inputs and constraints. At the same time
school context is essentially a generator of the desired school outputs, in the sense of the goals of
schooling. An example of a school output is the average achievement on a test in one or more
basic subjects at a certain grade level. Another example, more an attainment than an achievement
indicator, would be the proportion of students who obtained a diploma without any delay such as
repeating a grade. However, school outputs are not limited to student achievement, but can also
have a longer-term impact on society.
School processes are hierarchical (both by school and classroom levels) and sit within the
national education structure. An example of a process variable at the school level is the degree of
co-operation within the school, or the degree to which school leadership is instruction oriented
(so-called instructional leadership). Examples of such variables from PISA 2000 include
disciplinary climate and achievement press.1 an example of a process variable at the classroom
level is the amount of teaching time spent on a particular subject.

From birth to age eighteen, children spend just a fraction of their lives in school. Thus it is not
surprising that many factors outside the school environment can significantly influence students'
prospects for academic success in school. These factors are in play both during the years before
children begin formal schooling and while they are actually enrolled in elementary and
secondary school.
A diverse array of issues, including (but not limited to) parents' beliefs and expectations about
education; the availability and quality of child care; family economic status; the persistence, or
absence, of violence in a child's life; access to social services; physical and mental health issues;
opportunities for constructive, healthy activities outside of school; and the nature and strength of
school-community connections, can make a difference in a child's opportunities to do well in
school.

Every child has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many children,
especially those from poor and minority families, are placed at risk by school practices that
are based on a sorting paradigm in which some students receive high-expectations instruction
while the rest are relegated to lower quality education and lower quality futures. The sorting
perspective must be replaced by a talent development model that asserts that all children
are capable of succeeding in a rich and demanding curriculum with appropriate assistance and
support.

Read more: Out-of-School Influences and Academic Success - Background, Parental Influence,
Family Economic Status, Preparing for School, Physical and Mental Health -
StateUniversity.com http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2306/Out-School-Influences-
Academic-Success.html#ixzz31Ibp6mTy
References
Casey, L., & Wilson, J. (2007). Understanding the Recreational Reading Patterns of Secondary
Students. Reading Improvement, Mar 22, 40-48.
Fowles Mates, B., & Teran Strommen, L. (2004). Learning to Love Reading: Interviews With
Older Children and Teens. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(No. 3), 188-200.
Hughes-Hassell, S., & Rodge, P. (2007). The Leisure Reading Habits of Urban Adolescents.
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51(No. 1), 22-88.
Kush, J., & Watkins, M. (1996). Long-Term Stability of Children's Attitude Toward Reading.
The Journal of Educational Research, 89(May/June), 315-319.
Mckool, S. (2007). Factors That Influence the Decision to Read: An Investigation of Fifth Grade
Students' Out-of-School Reading Habits. Reading Improvement, 44(No. 3), 111-131.
Shann, M. (2001). Students' Use of Time Outside of School: A case for After School Programs
for Urban Middle School Youth. The Urban Review, 33(No. 4), 339-355.