Reading and knowledge transfer in Ghana: the behaviour, attitudes and self-concepts of first-year students in Bachelor of Education programmes

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it is an attempt to fill in the blanks on the unexplored map of reading behaviours, attitudes, and self-concept of teacher education students in Ghana. Secondly, it investigates whether the negative perceptions of lecturers from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the University of Education Winneba (UEW) about their students’ reading attitudes and behaviour correspond to the students’ self-perceptions. We investigated the reading attitudes, behaviour, and self-concept of 316 students from UCC and UEW. Outcomes showed that spending time on reading for enjoyment is not popular amongst students. A surprisingly positive attitude towards reading for school, for enjoyment and self-concept of reading amongst students was found. This is contradictory to the negative perceptions of lecturers at UCC and UEW. The correlations we found between reading behaviour, attitude and self-concept are in line with recent reading research findings.

Keywords:

• reading attitude
• reading behaviour
• self-concept of reading
• teacher education
• Ghana