Primary schools’ initiatives and challenges in cultivating sustainable reading habits among pupils in Tanzania

This study investigated primary schools’ initiatives and challenges in fostering pupils’ reading habits in Tanzania against the backdrop of general apathy toward poor reading habits particularly in public schools. Three questions guided the study: What does a reading habit mean to teachers, pupils and parents in primary education? How do primary schools promote reading habits among pupils? What challenges do primary schools face in cultivating reading habits among pupils? Data was collected through interviews, documentary review, and observations. The sample comprised teachers, pupils, and parents. The findings show that in general teachers, parents and pupils understood the concept of a reading habit. Moreover, having school book stores, encouraging pupils to buy books, administering activities that urged pupils to read books, and encouraging pupil reading were initiatives primary schools employed to cultivate pupils’ reading habit. The study identified pupils’ low interest in reading books, lack of books, absence of school libraries, pupils’ semi-illiteracy and the high cost of books as challenges that schools had to contend with in promoting pupils’ reading habit. The study concludes that the onus was on all primary education stakeholders to shoulder the obligation of initiating and cultivating pupils’ reading habits. © Korean Educational Development Institute 2020, Electronic version: https://www.kedi.re.kr/eng.