The Analysis of Fourth Grade Primary Students’ Reader Self-perceptions in Terms of Gender and Preschool Educational Background

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse perceptions of fourth grade primary school students on their reading ability. In the study, screening model was used as a quantitative research method. The sample of this research was selected by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 556 fourth grade students who received education in 8 public schools in 2014-2015 academic year in Tuzla, Pendik, Çekmeköy and Kadıköy districts, in İstanbul. A ‘personal information form’ and a ‘Reading Self-Perception Scale’ were used as data collection tools in this study. It is found that the readability level of scales and their sub-dimensions’ was convenient for the research according to item analysis. The data collected by personal information form and Reader Self-Perception Scale was analysed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 23 statistical package program. For the analysis frequency and percentage distribution, mean square and standard deviation values, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and independent samples t-test were used. The general reader self-perception of fourth graders is at positive level. The highest level of reader self-perceptions is at ‘progress’. The general self-perception levels of students vary by gender. Also, the reader self-perceptions level of female students is higher than the reader self-perceptions level of male students. The reader self-perceptions of students vary by pre-school educational background. The students who have pre-school educational background have higher level of reader self-perception with its sub-dimensions than the students who don’t have pre-school educational background.