GENDER AND SCHOOL TYPE AS CORRELATES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’EXTENSIVE READING HABIT AND WRITING PERFORMANCE IN ILORIN, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study focused on examining the relationship between gender and school type as correlates of secondary
school students’ extensive and writing performances in Ilorin by adopting the descriptive survey design. The
population for the study were all secondary school students in Ilorin, while the sample were 399 students. Two
instruments were used in the study. The first, Students’ Reading Habit Questionnaire (SRHQ) and the second,
Students’ Writing Performance Test (SWPT). The data were analyzed using percentages and the Pearson’s
Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient at 0.05 alpha level. The study revealed that most of the students have
an ambivalent reading habit. Similarly, most of the students prefer reading their textbooks to any other material.
Also, a greater percentage of students (88.7%) recorded low writing performance. In addition, there was a
significant relationship between reading habits and writing performance. The study concluded that there was no
relationship between reading habits and writing performance of students. It was recommended that reading and
writing activities should be functional since formal education could end at the level by including reading in
other subjects not only in English language and Literature