An investigation of the reading interests of Zulu speaking standard two children in the Department of Education and Training (DET) in Pietermaritzburg 1 circuit.

Abstract

The reading interests of black Standard Two children in Pietermaritzburg were tested in the study. This was in response to the need, expressed by parents, teachers, information workers, media-teachers and publishers, for information and guidance regarding reading interests of black children in South Africa. Two opposing trends were identified in the international literature (including South Africa) on the reading interests of children. The literature is reviewed and the two trends are discussed. A sample of children was selected from a sample of primary schools in the Pietermaritzburg 1 Circuit of the former Department of Education and Training. A sample of children's books was selected and presented to the children to test their interests. Some of the findings were: The children did not necessarily prefer settings and situations which were familiar to their own circumstances; they did not necessarily prefer books which were written in their vernacular; reading emerged as an individual matter regardless of ethnicity or race; children's preferences had no significant relationship to the ethnic origin of the story. From the children's preferences of books and from their responses to questions regarding their reading involvement, conclusions are drawn and suggestions are made.