Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia

WOLAITA SODO UNIVERSITY: Vision, Mission, Core Values, Motto and Transformational Agenda.

Taye is a senior Agricultural and related professional Researcher and Consultant; Research Centers Directorate Director at Wolaita Sodo University. His areas of interest are climate change and food systems, sustainable agriculture, environmental and natural resources management, ecology and biodiversity conservation. He is interested in looking at how new innovations such as climate smart agriculture, water management and sustainability approaches can be used to improve social welfare of the vulnerable people development.

Key Responsibilities of Research Centers Directors/current leadership position:

• Identify and analyze the constraints and opportunities in Research Centers and Communities.
• Organizing research and demonstration centers by logistics, human resources, materials, inputs and technologies
• Organizing and coordinating different cooperatives, youth development groups, Rural Women Developments and enterprises for development, Livelihood improvement, Economic growth and Market attachments
• Provides required technical support in planning, designing, implementation, monitoring and follow up, evaluation and reporting of Research Center`s and area communities development activities.
• Ensure progress and achievements are tracked against established work plans
• Preparing project and budget proposals and recommendations and establishes budget control system for controlling expenditures; controls expenditures in accordance with budget allocations; recommends equipment and resources for the center.
• Develop appropriate assessment, monitoring, evaluation and related tools for the integrated agriculture resilience
• Develop and monitor applicable demonstration sites at Research Centers
• Coordinate with M & E system of monitoring and evaluation frame works.

• Define a replicable process for establishment and maintenance of Research and Demonstration sites with Colleges and other partners
• Maintain and create good relationship and collaboration with stakeholders Develop networks between the research center and researchers in the field
• Developing strong linkages with appropriate academic departments and units and adding value to line departments

• Facilitate the involvement of volunteers from different Sectors to support the program

• Monitoring and evaluation of the project’s outcomes and impact

STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING READING CULTURE IN UNIVERSAL
PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN Humbo DISTRICT, Wolaita Ethiopia
A CASE STUDY OF KYERERO PRIMARY SCHOOL

African society has been labelled with phrases such as an oral society or one that lacks a reading culture (Mulindwa, 2001). Sangkeo (1999), while presenting a paper on reading habits promotion in the Association of South- East Asian Nations (ASEAN) libraries, noted that “we are not a reading society but a chatting society.” He explained that people preferred conversing rather than reading.

Reading culture is a climate where reading is regarded as highly valued and appreciated in society(Lauristin & Vihalemm, n.d.). It is a situation where members of the society read extensively and it is part of their regular habit. Reading is not only regarded as something you practice at school or for studying but it is also something practiced at home during leisure as

a means of pleasure. Culture is a social behaviour and norms found in human societies. This chapter covers: the background to the study, Statement of the Problem, Objectives of the study, Research questions, Justification and Significance of the study, Conceptual framework, Definition of terms and Scope of the study.

According to the previous studies, Ethiopia lack the motivation to buy books because they have to meet basic human needs such as food, health, shelter and clothing. As a result of low incomes, many willing readers keep away from buying books because they do not have money to buy reading materials. This limits their ability to get exposed to a variety of information materials which could easily be accessed by buying them from bookshops if they can afford them.

 Despite governments’ effort to support UPE program by providing text books, reading materials (readers, charts, graphs) and enrolling qualified teachers who put pressure on pupils to read hard in UPE schools in Humbo district, reading culture is still low particularly. This results from the fact that these pupils read less and concentrate on reading prescribed text books to pass examinations a situation that has created poor reading habits, poor language coordination, expression and poor academic performance which have hampered the pupils’ creativity in various aspects of life UNEB (2002). This study seeks to identify the strategies for the development of a reading culture in primary schools in Humbo district. 

According to Sentuwa (2004) children from well-to-do families preferred spending their leisure time watching movies, surfing the Internet, and visiting friends whereas children of the poor sell foodstuffs and collect water to earn a living rather than read. Further still, Nnam (2003) pointed out that the poor state of reading in our society today was as a result of most children valuing co-curricular activities highly as compared to reading.

The importance of literacy not only in Africa but globally cannot be over emphasized. The importance attached to literacy is demonstrated by annual celebration of World Literacy day commemorated on 8th September every year(Development & Note, 2018). The World Literacy day was first declared in 1966 and serves to remind the international community of the need to overcome issues about learning. With about 95% of the world illiterate people
living in developing countries of which 50% are in Sub Saharan Africa, the importance of this study in the context of Ethiopia is therefore significant. It has implications for policy, theory and practice.

The development of a reading culture in Ethiopia is influenced by the formal education system. According to Sekamwa, the first schools were established by both Catholic and Protestant missions and they aimed at training catechists. The educational activities of the missionaries later extended to children and proper schools were established by 1898. However, the education system underwent various reforms from mission
schools to privately-owned schools, all of which followed the same education curriculum. According to Wagana
(1993), most pupils in primary schools in Uganda hardly read outside school since reading is
not part of the curriculum. Even with the few reading materials available in primary schools, the readership of these materials is still very low. This is not only because pupils are reluctant to read, but also due to a number of factors which this study aims to establish. 

General Objective
The study seeks to analyze the reading practices among pupils in UPE schools in Ethiopia in order to develop strategies for the development of a reading culture in UPE schools in Wolaita
Specific objectives
The specific objectives are;
i. To establish the status of literacy among UPE pupils in Humbo district.
ii. To find out the major challenges to reading among pupils in UPE schools in Humbo district
iii. To identify appropriate strategies to improve the reading culture of pupils in UPE schools in Humbo district.

Conducting research and rendering community services are the two major responsibilities of Ethiopian universities. Accordingly, Wolaita Sodo University has been engaged in conducting research and providing community services in various areas since 2004 E.C. Since then, the number of academic staff involved in research and community services is increasing. Consequently, the research and community services of Wolaita Sodo Universiity are broadening from year to year there by increasing the beneficiaries of the activities.
Various research and community services activities have been undertaken by the budget of the university, WSU, in the 2007 E.C budget year. The research and community services have been carried out by the academic staff of the 9 colleges/schools of the university. Researchers and those who rendered community services are expected to write a report on the activities they performed.

To do so, standard format that shows the specific elements that should be incorporated in the report was prepared and forwarded to each researcher through coordinators. Accordingly, numerous reports were written by researchers and those who rendered community services and then, the report was submitted to the office of Research Publication, Documentation and Dissemination Directorate. However, the reports which were written according to the given format were selected and considered here.
Besides, conferences, forums, field day and trainings on research and community services were written and published. Activities which were performed with regard to research and community services should
be compiled, organized, published, disseminated and documented for various reasons. The publication is believed to avoid repetition. If the Research and Community Services (RCS) projects are not published and if our academic staffs do not know what is already done, they may come up with the same RCS topics and ask for a fund. This will result in redundancy. It leads to waste of material and financial resources, human energy, time, etc.
Thus, publication and documentation of the reports is believed to solve such problems.

 
The RCS projects are meant to bring development of the nearby community in particular and the nation at large. However, the projects are not well known to the community and other concerned bodies. Hence, this report is produced to offer brief information about the projects conducted in the 2007 fiscal year. In other words, one of the aims of publishing the report is to disseminate information to the various stakeholders of the university. In
addition to avoiding repetition, the writing and publishing the RCS project reports will help us to communicate what the office is doing to the university staff, nearby community and to other concerned bodies. Furthermore, the reports can be used as an input by researchers to conduct further studies. With this regard, this report will be helpful to researchers, students and other interested individuals. 

Research Design

(Ling, 2006) describes research design as the scheme, outline or plan to generate answers to the research problems. (Tellis, 2014) says that, a research design involves a discussion of when, where, how and why the research is going to be started and accomplished. The research design will include the case study and will use both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. The case study design allows the researcher to concentrate on the specific school and identify the various interactive processes at work. 

Population of the Study
Population can be defined as the group of people with one or more characteristics in common (Farrar, 2010). The population will comprise of pupils who will be involved in reading, head teacher, deputy head teacher, who play a key role in the reading lives of the pupils. Therefore it is important to establish their views on their contribution of the reading and the teacher in charge of reading who will be chosen for their special role in matters pertaining to reading culture of the children.

Sample Size
Polit (2001) defines sample size as a proportion of population. A Sample is finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole. When dealing with people it can be a set of respondents (people) selected from a large population for the purposes of this survey. The study will comprise of seventy seven (77) respondents. These will include sixty (74) pupils from primary five to primary seven, one (1) head teacher, one (1) deputy head teacher, one (1) teacher in charge of reading from Tebela Primary School where the study will be carried out. 

Simple random sampling
In this method, individuals will be picked purely randomly without any other influence. This method will ensure that each member of the target population has an equal and independent chance of being included in a sample

Data Source
The research will use both primary and secondary data. The researcher will get information from reading journals, text books, publications, magazines related to this topic available in libraries.
Primary Data
The researcher will use primary data which will be data collected from the field using the questionnaires and interview guides.
Secondary Data
The researcher will use data from other books and other scholars in regard to strategies for improving reading culture in UPE schools.

Data Collection Methods
Questionnaire method
(Daniel, 2018) described a questionnaire as a predetermined list of questions which are answered by a subject respondent without supervision or explanation by the interviewer. This will be used by the researcher to get Information especially from the Library staff. Both open and closed questions will be sent to widen the chance of response. 

Interviewing:
(Kelly, 2007) defines an interview as a face to face conversation between an interviewer and respondents conducted for the purpose of obtaining Information. The researcher will use the interview method and this will involve face to face encounter between the researcher and all targeted respondents like librarians, other university staff members and students. 

The study may produce a guide to the government on how reading practices from schools with different curricula, like international schools, could be implemented in UPE schools to help in creating a strong reading culture among pupils following the Uganda Education Curricula. The study may help education policy- makers in Ethiopia in streamlining curricula that make
reading a necessity by implementing a strong reading policy to guide schools on how to make their pupils more interested in reading and why it is important to read. Hence the study will provide ideas on how policy-makers and teachers can encourage pupils to make reading a habit in order to develop a good reading culture.

 
The research may make contribution to knowledge of teachers in schools on how they can guide pupils to read in order to improve the reading culture in UPE schools in Ethiopia. It is hoped that this may create more awareness among the pupils and teachers about the importance of reading in order for them to be more knowledgeable and acquire the love for reading. 

Furthermore, the study may be a source of literature to be reviewed by other library professions and other scholars who intend to further research on the problem being studied. The study may be consulted by other people carrying out research about reading in order to acquire facts about the reading practices in UPE schools in Ethiopia. The study may benefit the researcher since it is a requirement to obtain his Bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Science at Wolaita Sodo University. 

What is the status of literacy among UPE pupils in Humbo district?
ii. What challenges do pupils face that limit the development of a reading culture in UPE Humbo district?
iii. What strategies should be adopted to improve the reading culture of pupils in UPE schools in Humbo district?

The analyzed reading practices among pupils in UPE schools in Ethiopia in
order to develop strategies for the development of a reading culture in UPE schools in Ethiopia with:

i. Established the status of literacy among UPE pupils in Humbo district.
ii. Found out the major challenges to reading among pupils in UPE schools in Humbo district
iii. Identified appropriate strategies to improve the reading culture of pupils in UPE schools in Humbo district.

Challenges like undeveloped libraries, insufficient reading materials, limited time for practice, poverty, inadequate literature in local languages for beginners and lack of national text book policy have been identified. However, in Ethiopia, the majority of children do not show interest in reading. Basing on the gaps revealed by this literature, the researcher would wish to proceed to the field to collect primary data on the strategies for the development of reading culture in Universal primary schools.

The researcher will obtain an introductory letter from the Department of Library and Information Science, Wolaita Sodo University. He will then present the letter to the responsible authorities in selected Universal Primary School for the permission to conduct the research in the school. Before data collection, the researcher will inform the respondents on the purpose
of the study and its benefits. The study will only be conducted with the consent of the respondents and rules of research will be strictly adhered to. Confidentiality and respect of the respondents will be observed during the study. Adult respondents will sign the consent form but if they feel unable to continue, they have the right to withdraw from the study

The researcher will ensure that questionnaires are given earlier enough so that respondents can fill them at their own time not on hurry as this will help the researcher to process collected data for final reporting.
The researcher will assure respondents of utmost confidentiality in any information got from the them and the academic relatedness of this research. This will create a better background for the researcher to collect data. The researcher will ensure that sampling is done properly using well designed techniques to minimize chances of obtaining biased information.