THE ROLE PLAYED BY PARENTS AND TEACHERS IN SHAPING THE READING HABITS OF CHILDREN IN AN AGE OF CHANGING BOOK FORMATS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MANGALORE: A STUDY

Abstract

One of the primary concerns of parents/wards and educators is the nurturing and shaping of reading skills in school-going children. What the former must recognize is that reading is integral to many other skills that need to be developed simultaneously in the child pupil. Consequently, if a child’s reading skills are poor or under-developed, the child will be disadvantaged in several ways. Reading, in fact, involves both psychomotor and cognitive skills. For instance, a child needs to be able to listen and receive auditory feedback when reading aloud. Research has shown that experimentally delayed auditory feedback of a child’s oral reading can lead to stuttering and other speech problems. This study analyses the reading habits of high-school children in Mangalore City and the role played by the parents and teachers of these children in augmenting their reading skills.