80.3% of Gyeonggi Students Are "Satisfied with School Library Operation Programs"

Last Year's Average Reading Volume 46.5 Books... Most Read Books Recommended by Friends
Announcement of '2024 Student Reading Survey' Results for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students in the Province
Students' Annual Average Reading Volume is 10.5 Books More Than the 2023 National Reading Survey Results

Last year, 8 out of 10 students in Gyeonggi-do used school libraries and were satisfied with the library programs. Additionally, in 2024, they read an average of 46.5 books and most frequently read books recommended by friends.

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Tae-hee) announced the results of the ‘2024 Student Reading Survey’ on the 8th. This survey was conducted online from November 28 to December 3 last year, targeting students from 31 regions in the province, including elementary, middle, high, and various other schools, with a total of 3,766 participants.

The Office of Education conducted the survey to realize field-based reading education and operate school libraries tailored to student characteristics, based on the status of library usage and reading habits.

The survey covered ▲school library usage status ▲participation in school library educational activities ▲reading perception ▲reading habits, based on the national reading survey items, linking school library usage status with Gyeonggi education policies.

As a result, in the ‘school library usage status’ section, 80.8% of responding students used the school library, with usage frequency decreasing as students progressed to high school.

The average time spent in the school library per visit was less than 30 minutes, and the purposes of use were ▲borrowing materials and reading (62.4%) ▲resting or communicating with friends (16.3%) ▲assignments (11.8%).

In the ‘participation in school library educational activities’ section, 96.8% of respondents had experience participating in library programs, showing a high satisfaction rate of 80.8%. The higher the satisfaction with participation, the greater the intention to participate again.

Furthermore, experience in school library educational activities influenced interest in libraries or books in the order of elementary (48.5%), middle (35.8%), and high school (25.3%).

Regarding ‘reading perception,’ students recognized reading primarily as reading paper books (91%) and read paper books the most (89%). Interest in reading was highest among elementary (65.8%), followed by high (62.3%) and middle school students (57.6%), suggesting the importance of childhood reading habits and reading education.

Students recognized the effects of reading as ▲enhancing imagination (26.0%) ▲accumulating knowledge and information (24.7%) ▲improving reading comprehension (18.5%).

The main factors hindering reading were ▲lack of time due to studying (47.1%) ▲smartphones, movies, games being more entertaining (41.2%). Students who did not like reading responded that ▲reading books is not fun (49.5%) ▲smartphones, movies, games are more entertaining (48.4%), indicating that academics and smart devices significantly affect reading.

In the ‘reading habits’ category, the average number of books read in 2024 was 46.5, which is 10.5 books more than the 36 books reported in the 2023 National Reading Survey.

The main reading locations were home (78.5%), classroom (43.6%), school library (34.6%), and public library (14.4%), with a high proportion of reading occurring in the school library (60.5%). This indicates that school libraries play an important role in providing materials.

60.4% of students responded that they feel like reading a book when it is recommended, and 40.7% read the most books recommended by friends. This trend was more pronounced as school level increased: elementary 36.1%, middle 41.9%, and high 48.1%.

Additionally, for elementary students, parental influence (29.6%) was significant, suggesting the need for home-linked reading education policies.

Last year, the Office of Education announced the ‘Three Key Policies for Better School Libraries’ and has been working to improve student reading conditions and promote reading education.

Professional personnel were assigned to 99.2% of all schools’ libraries, and 19 billion KRW was provided to 95 school libraries to improve reading environments. Furthermore, a regulation was established to secure at least 3% of the school library budget for purchasing materials to provide diverse resources.

Along with this, the ‘Library Niche Immersive Reading Twenty Minutes (Library Niche·Immersion·Reading)’ program was operated, resulting in an average of 46.5 books read per student annually. Also, the peer-recommended book program ‘QR-Connected Book World, Student Book CC Contest’ was held to increase students’ interest in reading.

The Office of Education analyzes that these efforts resulted in high satisfaction with school library programs, increased interest in books through the use of school library materials, and an increase in reading volume.

Kim Eun-seon, Director of Lifelong Education at the Office of Education, said, “This survey confirmed positive aspects such as school library usage rate, reading volume, and reading motivation. We will actively implement school library promotion policies to increase students’ interest in reading and bring them closer to school libraries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.