D, Bedekar R. (2017). A Critical Study of Reading Interests of the Students in respect of their Mother Tongue i.e. Marathi with special reference to the Students of VIII and IX Standards in Kolhapur Districts. Unpublished. Ph.D., Education. Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
The objectives of study were: (1) To search for the reading interest of VIII and IX standard students. (2) To obtain data regarding the reading materials used by the VIII and IX standard students. (3) To make comparative study of reading interest of the male and female students. (4) To make comparative study of reading interest of the rural and urban students. (5) To study the nature of reading interests of the VIII and IX standard students from rural and urban schools.
Out of 397 grantable schools from Kolhapur district, 10% schools were selected for the study.
Tools used were: Reading Interest Questionnaire for the Students, Questionnaire for the teachers who work for school library, Interviews schedule for Teachers, Headmasters, and Parents / Guardians.
Survey method of research was used.The researcher prepared a chart showing the results of board examinations of these schools for the academic years 1994, 1995, and 1996. The average of result was calculated and the schools were divided in seven groups according to the average of results. From each group, the schools were selected. All the students studying in those schools were considered for the study.
The data were analyzed by computing percentages.
The findings of study were: (1) About 50% students have interest in reading. (2) Girl students have more interest in reading than boys. (3) The regular readers of daily news papers are more in urban area than in rural area. (4) Very few (19.4%) students get facilities of reading magazines or other periodicals. (5) The urban students have more facilities for reading than rural students. (6) The students of these standards love to read humorous stories; the second preference is given to essays or composition. (7) 50% students have attraction towards cinema stories, biographies of great people and books based on health. (8) About 50% students from urban and rural areas like to read ghost stories, suspense stories, stories of adventure and war. (9) The parents from urban area are found to be more conscious about their children’s reading interests than the parents from the rural area.
Keyword(s): Reading Interests, Mother Tongue, Marathi, VIII and IX Standards , Language Education