Date of Award:

5-1948

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Education (MEd)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Department name when degree awarded

Education

Committee Chair(s)

John C. Carlisle

Committee

John C. Carlisle

Abstract

One of the most remarkable developments of the present age is the apparently large increase in the reading public. The vast output of reading materials being purchased would seem to be evidence that reading is playing an increasingly important part in the daily lives of most people. Magazines and other publications crowd our stores, our homes, our very tables; at first glance, one would think that reading matter usurps our attention, and that we have come to depend upon it. The modern reader glances at the label on a can to learn its contents and uses. He reads the weather forecast and dresses accordingly; he looks to the want-ads for a second-hand typewriter, an apartment, or a lost purse. If the world were suddenly deprived of all printed material, it is probable that many people in the United States would find life exceedinly empty.

That the educational world is coming to realize the fundamental importance of reading in the life of the individual citizen is shown by the increasing amount of attention which is being given the subject by scientific investigators. Interest in and a desire for knowledge concerning the reading habits of adults and the factors which affect these habits have developed rapidly during the past few years. Some of the most significant contributions which have been made recently in the field of educational research have been studies of phases of the reading process. The studies reveal that the dominant reading interests of the American people have varied with their changing needs and ideals. Furthermore, these same reading interests have exerted a strong influence upon the nature of the materials supplied for school reading, for religious study, and for the influencing of the people's loyalty to the nation.

There are several reasons for the new emphasis upon the reading habits of adults; first, the efforts of librarians and educators generally to promote adult education, and second, the increased interest in reading by adults because of their own realization of its social utility. Also the fact that useful learning is not prevented by advancing age has had a great deal to do with the place of serious reading in a modern society, for it implies that serious reading is helpful at any age.

Reading is one of the chief avenues through which adults become informed about current events, significant social issues, and community and national problems. Consequently, facts concerning the reading habits of adults and the factors which influence these habits and tastes should be of importance to all persons attempting to serve and guide the reading interests and needs of the public.

Since 1900, more than one thousand studies have been made concerning the various aspects of reading (30, p. 407). It has only been in the last twenty years, however, that many studies have been made concerning adult reading. During this time several hundred surveys have been made in this area. The majority of these studies have been concerned with problems at the secondary and college levels rather than with the reading of adults outside of school. Also, with the exception of a study made by Hall and Robinson in 1942 and brief reports regarding the reading of adults in rural areas, the majority of the recent studies have been based on urban responses.

As states by Gray and Munroe, (31, p. 261) "There is a need for additional studies to determine other factors and conditions that influence reading habits in different communities." With respect to the reading of rural people, Kenyon L. Butterfield (12, p. 497) drew the significant conclusion that:

The problems of the reading habits of the farmer need attention. Farmers read, and they think about what they read, but most of them do not read enough and are not sufficiently readers of books dealing with the great problems of the time. The root difficulty lies in the failure of the rural school to cooperate in inculcating and stimulating reading interest.

A further review of the literature, as outlined later in this report, seemed to confirm the observation that additional studies in the field of adult reading in rural areas were needed. Therefore, because of this felt need and because of the possible subsequent use of such a study pertaining to the reading habits and tastes of adults in rural areas it was decided to make a study of adult reading in a rural section of Utah.

Kane County, Utah was chosen for the purpose of the study. The county is located in southwestern Utah, being approximately one hundred miles from the nearest railroad. It has a population of 2,561 persons, of which according to the 1940 census report (72, p. 38) 2,530 are native and 31 foreign born. Primarily, the people are farmers and stockraisers. In recent years, however, the production of moving pictures in the immediate locale has brought in a new source of income as well as a new environmental influence. The median number of school years completed by persons twenty-five years of age and over in the rural-farm class is indicated in the census as being 8.8 for the men and 9.3 for the women. In the rural non-farm class, the median is slightly higher, being 9.5 years of education for the men and 9.9 years for the women (72, p. 38).

Study of similar surveys revealed that, in general, each one was confined to a particular phase of reading--that is, newspaper reading, or magazine reading, or book reading. In the present study, however, it was decided that in order to acquire a more comprehensive picture of the reading habits of the people the study should be concerned with all of the above mentioned aspects of reading. Furthermore, since book reviewing has become a prominent part of social activities through which people are acquainted with books, it was also decided to include such a section.

Checksum

554d9c1d03a8136efd16bd67a87b0405

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .