Gender differences in the reading habits of secondary school students of Osun State public schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 720-727
Author(s):  
O. F. Bamise ◽  

The research evaluated among secondary school students the time spent in reading and the reading materials preferred. The purpose for which they read was also identified. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted which focused on public secondary schools of Osun State, Southwest, Nigeria. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select 1101 senior secondary school students from 12 public schools covering the 6 educational zones of Osun State. A 20 item Reading Habit Scale was used. The questionnaire was administered with the aid of a research assistant and retrieved immediately from the volunteers after completion. One thousand and seventy-nine copies of the questionnaire were analyzed, 43% of the respondents were boys while 57% were girls. Only 18.6% of the respondents were daily long-time readers (>1 to 6 hours per day) which comprised 17% of the boys and 20% of the girls. Boys more than girls read past questions and solutions while girls more than boys read textbooks and subject teachers note. Boys (98%) more than girls (97%) indicated they read in order to get better grades in tests and examinations. Conversely, girls more than the boys read for a better understanding of topics taught by the teacher and for pleasure (84:76%). A statistically significant gender difference exists with respect to “reading for pleasure” (x=8.92, p=0.003). Most of the students have poor reading habits with respect to daily reading time. Girls were more daily long-time readers and also read for pleasure.

Author(s):  
Sai Krishna Gudi

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> In recent years, there established a diverse information and accelerated surge towards HIV/AIDS. However, awareness of HIV/AIDS among children are ill-defined. As we all are familiar with the known fact that, our greatest natural resource is the minds of the young children who has the potentiality for forming a better nation. It is our greatest responsibility to ignite their young minds in order to eradicate the pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and perceptions regarding HIV-AIDS among secondary school students.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the simple random sampling technique. A total of 96 students aged between 13-17 years were sampled from a secondary school in Guntur district and interviewed through a validated self-administered questionnaire in order to assess the knowledge, attitude and perceptions (KAP) regarding HIV/AIDS. The study cohort includes students from VIII, IX, and X standards. Verbal consent from students was obtained before initiating the study. Responses were scored, analyzed and mean score and percentage were used to determine the level of KAP.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The study results demonstrated that students of class X had a predominant overall knowledge than of class IX and VIII. While males had a good knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Whereas, females had a lot of misconceptions when compared on overall basis.</p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> This particular survey results strengthen the truth that still there exists a lack of awareness and knowledge among children regarding HIV/AIDS in developing countries like India.


2021 ◽  
pp. 803-809
Author(s):  
Abbas Musa ◽  
Muhammad Garba Magaji ◽  
Raliya Muhammad Bello

Background: Pharmacists play prominent roles in the health care system and enjoy a wide variety of inter-related careers, placing them among the high-ranking health professionals. Aim: To assess the awareness of pharmacy as a career among secondary school students in the Zaria and Giwa educational zones of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in secondary schools located in the Zaria and Giwa educational zones in Kaduna state, Nigeria; a sample of 278 students completed a 26-item questionnaire. Results: The respondents displayed a fair knowledge of pharmacy (mean score of 9.8 out of 20), with significant differences in awareness observed between males and females (p=0.026), students from private and public schools (p<0.001), and those from schools located in urban and rural areas (p<0.001). Conclusion: The students had a fair knowledge of pharmacy careers and pharmacists' roles and characteristics.


Libri ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-167
Author(s):  
Christopher Osaretin Ukpebor

AbstractStudies have shown that Nigerians have a poor reading culture which could be as a result of several factors including unavailability of print resources. Literature has revealed that the quality of reading by secondary school students in Edo State was regrettably on the decline and that inadequate use of print resources was a major factor. The descriptive survey design of correlational type was adopted for the study. Stratified multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting participants for this study. Fifty percent was used to select nine local governments, 10 % to select public and private secondary schools from the already selected nine local governments, making a total of 65 schools. From each of the selected 65 schools, a sampling fraction of 11 % was used to select a total of 895 students for the study. A questionnaire was used for students while an interview checklist was used for school principals in justification of the students’ responses. Regression analysis (at 0.05 level of significance) was used to analyse the data. Findings revealed that secondary school students in Edo State have print resources readily available, while secondary school students had a poor reading culture with the weighted average of 3.06. The effect of print resources (β = 0.141; p < 0.05) in predicting students’ reading culture was significant. Conclusively, the study showed that secondary school students in Edo State have a poor reading culture irrespective of the availability of print resources.


Author(s):  
Gunn Pungpapong ◽  
Rasmon Kalayasiri

Objective: To assess prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety and stress among adolescents experiencing lockdown during the 2019 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in both Asian and Western countries. Material and Methods: From May-June 2020, secondary school students were enrolled in an online cross-sectional survey, through social media; including, but not limited to, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and LINE. We assessed the presence and severity of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10) within the last month, and assessed significant associations with demographics, degree of social distancing, and other associated issues using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: From 392 respondents (56.4% male, 43.1% female), from Thailand (59.2%), the United Kingdom (26.5%) and other countries (14.3%), we identified depressive symptoms in 58.7%, anxiety in 40.3% and high levels of stress in 9.7%. By multivariate analysis, we found significant associations between being female and depression and anxiety, being in late secondary school years and depression, and changes in patterns of substance use and anxiety and stress. Participants not located in Thailand had increased risk of depression.Conclusion: Our study demonstrated depression, anxiety and stress in six, four and one out of ten adolescents, respectively, who were experiencing lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We found female gender, older school years, and changes in substance use patterns to be significantly associated with these mental health conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 359-365
Author(s):  
Monica a ◽  
◽  
A. Abuh ◽  
Nwaba A. Attah ◽  
◽  
...  

Physics is among the significant science subjects taught at the secondary school level in Nigerias education system. There has been a growing concern about the poor performance in physics in Nigeria. The present study was aimed to determine teachers likability as a factor that could influence students attitudes towards physics. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey. The population of the survey includes secondary school students in the Kogi State of Nigeria. Participants comprised males and females senior secondary school students. They were mainly pooled from the science class. One hundred and thirty-nine students participated in the study. Data was collected using a Teachers Likability Scale and the Physics Attitude Scale (PAS). The result revealed that most of the respondents indicated a negative attitude toward the subject (M = 0.87, SD = 0.35), while few (M = 0.18, SD = 0.39) showed a positive attitude towards the subject. A linear regression model was conducted to test the study hypothesis.The result showed that teachers likability statistically significantly predicted attitude towards physics F(1,137), 124.617 P< .05. The study concluded that a teachers likability is a significant predictor of attitude towards physics. Thus, it is recommended that teachers should be more facilitators than strict instructors.


Author(s):  
I. N. Usman ◽  
S. O. Olanrewaju ◽  
Saheed Opeyemi Usman

Background: Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer affecting women worldwide. It comprises 22.9% of invasive cancers in women and 16% of all female cancers.   It affects about 12% of the women population worldwide. In Nigeria, about one breast cancer death is reported in every 25 cases identified and the practice of breast self-examination has been reported to range from 19% to 43.2%. This cross sectional study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) among female secondary school students in Osogbo Metropolis. Methods: A total of 400 respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using pre-tested self-administered semi structured questionnaire, analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented using appropriate tables and charts. Level of significance set at < 0.05. Results: The mean age ± SD is 14.77 ± 1.46 years.  390 (97.5%) respondents reported that they have heard of breast cancer while 235 (58.8%) respondents stated that they have heard of breast self-examination (BSE). 15 (3.8%) respondents said the procedures is time wasting while 82 (20.5%) respondents said the procedures were strenuous. 199 (49.8%)  strongly disagree that performing breast self-examination may expose them to breast cancer. Individuals with poor knowledge are one time less likely to do breast self-examination (OR = 1.245, CI = 0.647 - 2.394) while in terms of attitude, those with unfavorable attitude are one time less likely to do breast self-examination (OR = 1.025 CI = 0.949 -1.107). Conclusion: This study revealed a larger proportion of respondents have heard about breast cancer and breast self-examination but with inadequate knowledge of the correct procedures of breast self-examination (BSE) thereby resulting into poor attitude & practice of breast self-examination (BSE). This challenge therefore indicates an urgent need for continuous awareness and sensitization programs in the communities.


Author(s):  
Ebelechuku Francesca Ugochukwu ◽  
Chinyere Ukamaka Onubogu ◽  
Kenneth Nchekwube Okeke ◽  
Victoria Chikodili Ofora ◽  
Chinenye MaryQueen Uju

Background: Obesity in children is universal affecting all ethnicities, ages, gender and social classes. Public school children consist mainly of the less affluent strata of society, and consequently may not be opportuned to avail themselves of necessary public health interventions as their private school counterparts.          Objective:This study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity using various anthropometric indices and association of certain factors with obesity among public secondary school students.    Methods:A cross-sectional school-based questionnaire and physical assessment of 593 students aged 10 – 17 years in public schools in Nnewi, Southeast Nigeria was carried out.                                                             Results: There were 289  boys and 304 girls, giving an approximate ratio of 1:1. Most of the students were from the middle and lower socio-economic levels. Girls were physically less active and consumed more junk food than the boys. The mean weight and height varied significantly with age in males, females and both sexes combined together (p <0.001). In general, girls were heavier than boys, while the boys were slightly taller than the girls. Age varied significantly with BMI (P<0.001 for girls and boys), WC (P<0.001 for girls and boys) and WHtR (p=0.034 for boys and 0.024 for girls). BMI performed better than WC and WHtR in identifying children with obesity. When compared with BMI, WC had a sensitivity of 5.2% and a specificity of 100.0% with a positive predictive value of 100.0% and a negative predictive value of 90.7%. WHtR had a sensitivity of 31.0% and a specificity of 99.8% with a positive predictive value of 94.7% and a negative predictive value of 93.0%. BMI had a strong correlation with both WC and WHtR although correlation was stronger with WC (R=704) compared to WHR (R=641). Among the students 9.8% were in the obese/overweight group, made up of 96.6% females, out of which 64.1% were older adolescents aged 15-17 years. Reduced physical activity played a major role in enhancing obesity/overweight, while socio-economic level and diet did not. After logistic regression analysis, age and sex remained significantly associated with being overweight or obese. The odds of being overweight or obese was 32 times in females compared to males and twice in in late adolescence compared to early adolescence.                                                                                                                                      Conclusion:  The obesity/overweight of older adolescent public secondary school girls buttress the importance of physical exercises in curbing obesity. Although easier to perform and very specific, WC and WHtR seemed to miss many adolescents with obesity when compared to BMI.  Therefore, a combination of these indices is recommended while screening adolescents for obesity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunn Pungpapong ◽  
Rasmon Kalayasiri

Abstract Background: Stressors introduced to adolescents by COVID-19 social distancing measures may cause mental health problems to (re)surface. We studied depression, anxiety and stress among adolescents experiencing lockdown. Methods: From May-June 2020, secondary school students were enrolled in an online cross-sectional survey through social media. We assessed presence and severity of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and stress (PSS-10) in the last month, demographics, degree of social distancing, and other associated issues.Results: Of 392 respondents (56.4% male, 43.1% female), mostly from Thailand (59.2%) and UK (26.5%). We identified depressive symptoms in 58.7%, anxiety in 40.3% and high levels of stress in 9.7%. We found, by multivariate analysis, significant associations between being female and depression and anxiety, being in late secondary school years and depression, and changes in patterns of substance use and anxiety and stress.Conclusions: We propose that girl-centred mental health support platforms should be readily available and tailored to fit specific countries’ contexts. Schools must closely monitor and act upon any concerns which arise from their students and must also monitor mental health wellbeing as changes in academic routine due to COVID-19 could be drastic for some. Harm reduction services must adapt and utilise innovative telemedicine interventions, tailored towards adolescent users.


Author(s):  
Nik Mohd. Rahimi Nik Yusoff ◽  
Kamarulzaman Abd. Ghani ◽  
Zawawi Ismail

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai tahap kemahiran kefahaman mendengar bahasa Arab di kalangan pelajar sekolah menengah agama negeri. Reka bentuk kajian yang digunakan dalam kajian ini ialah kaedah tinjauan semasa. Sebanyak lima aspek kefahaman mendengar bahasa Arab yang dinilai dalam kajian ini. Lima aspek kefahaman mendengar tersebut ialah; (i) kefahaman mendengar bunyi bahasa Arab; (ii) kefahaman mendengar makna perkataan secara leksikal; (iii) kefahaman mendengar makna perkataan secara kontekstual; (iv) kefahaman mendengar teks secara literal; dan (v) kemahiran mendengar teks secara inferential. Kajian ini dijalankan di sekolah–sekolah menengah agama negeri di Kelantan. Keputusan menunjukkan subkemahiran pertama berada pada tahap tinggi; subkemahiran kedua dan ketiga berada pada tahap sederhana; dan subkemahiran keempat dan kelima berada pada tahap lemah. Kata kunci: kemahiran kefahaman mendengar, sub–sub kemahiran kefahaman mendengar, bahasa Arab The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of Arabic listening comprehension among state religious secondary school students. There were five aspects of Arabic listening comprehension, which were evaluated in this study. The research design which was used in this study was cross sectional survey. The five aspects of Arabic listening comprehension were; (i) Arabic sound; (ii) word meaning lexically; (iii) word meaning contextually; (iv) texts meaning literally; and (v) texts meaning inferentially. This study was carried out at state religious secondary schools in Kelantan. The results showed the first sub skills was at a high level, the second and third sub skills was at a moderate level, and the fourth and fifth sub skills was at a weak level. Key words: listening comprehension skills, listening comprehension sub skills, Arabic language


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