The Attitudes towards Reading and the Reading Habits of the Students of Nāgānanda International Institute for Buddhist Studies

Abstract

Reading is a conscious activity which is aimed at understanding the author’s idea. Therefore it can also be explained as a mental action. Reading habit can be beneficial to a person in the aspects of gaining knowledge and social activities. This research study is based on the attitudes towards reading and the reading habits of the students of Nāgānanda International Institute for Buddhist Studies. A sample group of 78 students was used for the study. The preliminary data collection was conducted through a questionnaire. Background details, reading materials, time spent for reading daily, hobbies and the use of media like phones and internet were studied in this research. In order to understand the attitudes towards reading, fifteen statements were given to the students. For which they should agree or disagree. As per the preliminary study, the most popular reading source is the religious books. They spent an average of one to two hours a day for reading and are mostly interested in reading in their leisure. A similar number of students have a likeness towards the use of internet. Even though the majority has an interest in reading and acquiring knowledge, one of the major difficulties faced when reading is the drowsiness and the weariness. But they are still interested in keeping a private collection of books. Many students interested to read books as a conventional source however due their meager acquaintance of modern e-resources, acute trust on conventional source like books prompted reading rather using modern e-resources. Therefore, they have to be trained and more awareness programs on the use of e-resources.