Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety
Background: Reading proficiency is crucial for academic success, yet many students struggle with comprehension, do not engage in independent, self-motivated reading, and lack confidence in their reading abilities. The absence of a reading culture in Nigeria threatens the knowledge economy, as those...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iannajournalofinterdisciplinarystudies.com/index.php/1/article/view/496 |
| _version_ | 1826913019986182144 |
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| author | Vincent Ugah Uguma Alexander Timothy Eucharia Obiageli Obiekezie Virginia Emmanuel Ironbar Gladys Denis Ukume Francis Ademola Sanda Grace Onya Edu Ozioma Odirachimma Okoye Iwuala Patricia Ebere Chilebe James E. Archibong Miebaka Nabiebu Otemdam Jombo Okey |
| author_facet | Vincent Ugah Uguma Alexander Timothy Eucharia Obiageli Obiekezie Virginia Emmanuel Ironbar Gladys Denis Ukume Francis Ademola Sanda Grace Onya Edu Ozioma Odirachimma Okoye Iwuala Patricia Ebere Chilebe James E. Archibong Miebaka Nabiebu Otemdam Jombo Okey |
| author_sort | Vincent Ugah Uguma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Background: Reading proficiency is crucial for academic success, yet many students struggle with comprehension, do not engage in independent, self-motivated reading, and lack confidence in their reading abilities. The absence of a reading culture in Nigeria threatens the knowledge economy, as those who lack reading proficiency are incapable of producing, accessing, or transmitting knowledge.
Purpose of the study: This study examined the potential of structured debate as an instructional strategy to address the reading outcomes of secondary school students in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was employed with two groups: an experimental group engaged in structured debate activities and a control group following traditional reading instruction. Data on reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and reading autonomy was collected through standardized tests and surveys before and after the intervention. Three hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), while the pre-test scores were used as covariates.
Results: The findings revealed that structured debate significantly improved students' reading proficiency and autonomy compared to the control group. However, no significant impact on reading anxiety was observed.
Unique contributions to knowledge: The study offers a new perspective on improving reading skills in a context where traditional methods have shown limitations. The study addresses a significant issue of poor reading proficiency in Nigeria, a context where reading culture is lacking, and offers structured debate as an innovative instructional strategy. The study provides empirical evidence that structured debates could be effective at enhancing reading skills, especially in the Nigerian context with implications for policy and practice.
Recommendations: Integrating structured debate into reading instruction is recommended as a promising approach to improving reading outcomes among secondary school students. In addition, teacher training institutions are advised to train pre-service teachers on deploying structured debates in reading instruction.
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| first_indexed | 2025-02-17T10:38:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56cb84fce1424ec780cc6c426f205f79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2735-9883 2735-9891 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-17T10:38:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-56cb84fce1424ec780cc6c426f205f792024-12-30T09:35:56ZengDepartment of Mass Communication, University of NigeriaIanna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies2735-98832735-98912024-12-0171Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading AnxietyVincent Ugah Uguma0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6437-9078Alexander Timothy1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6436-0705Eucharia Obiageli Obiekezie2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4305-0123Virginia Emmanuel Ironbar3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3912-8514Gladys Denis Ukume4https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7479-2721Francis Ademola Sanda5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6322-076XGrace Onya Edu6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2871-5537Ozioma Odirachimma Okoye7https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8831-641XIwuala Patricia Ebere Chilebe8https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0335-4277James E. Archibong9https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6344-8432Miebaka Nabiebu10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9295-9686Otemdam Jombo Okey11https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1565-4260University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria UNIVERSITY OF CALABARUniversity of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria University of Calabar, Calabar-Nigeria Background: Reading proficiency is crucial for academic success, yet many students struggle with comprehension, do not engage in independent, self-motivated reading, and lack confidence in their reading abilities. The absence of a reading culture in Nigeria threatens the knowledge economy, as those who lack reading proficiency are incapable of producing, accessing, or transmitting knowledge. Purpose of the study: This study examined the potential of structured debate as an instructional strategy to address the reading outcomes of secondary school students in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was employed with two groups: an experimental group engaged in structured debate activities and a control group following traditional reading instruction. Data on reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and reading autonomy was collected through standardized tests and surveys before and after the intervention. Three hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), while the pre-test scores were used as covariates. Results: The findings revealed that structured debate significantly improved students' reading proficiency and autonomy compared to the control group. However, no significant impact on reading anxiety was observed. Unique contributions to knowledge: The study offers a new perspective on improving reading skills in a context where traditional methods have shown limitations. The study addresses a significant issue of poor reading proficiency in Nigeria, a context where reading culture is lacking, and offers structured debate as an innovative instructional strategy. The study provides empirical evidence that structured debates could be effective at enhancing reading skills, especially in the Nigerian context with implications for policy and practice. Recommendations: Integrating structured debate into reading instruction is recommended as a promising approach to improving reading outcomes among secondary school students. In addition, teacher training institutions are advised to train pre-service teachers on deploying structured debates in reading instruction. https://iannajournalofinterdisciplinarystudies.com/index.php/1/article/view/496reading anxietyreading proficiencyreading autonomysecondary educationstructured debates |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Ugah Uguma Alexander Timothy Eucharia Obiageli Obiekezie Virginia Emmanuel Ironbar Gladys Denis Ukume Francis Ademola Sanda Grace Onya Edu Ozioma Odirachimma Okoye Iwuala Patricia Ebere Chilebe James E. Archibong Miebaka Nabiebu Otemdam Jombo Okey Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies reading anxiety reading proficiency reading autonomy secondary education structured debates |
| title | Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety |
| title_full | Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety |
| title_short | Impact of Structured Debates on Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Reading Outcomes and Reading Anxiety |
| title_sort | impact of structured debates on nigerian secondary school students reading outcomes and reading anxiety |
| topic | reading anxiety reading proficiency reading autonomy secondary education structured debates |
| url | https://iannajournalofinterdisciplinarystudies.com/index.php/1/article/view/496 |
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