Comic Book Reading Practices of Middle School Students- the Case of Silifke

Abstract

Reading skill is one of the four fundamental skills in Turkish language education. Turning this skill into a habit plays an important role both in developing children’s imagination and in increasing their academic success. One of the literary genres that help children gain reading habits is comic books. Children who read comics eventually realize that there are many valuable works in the world of books and gradually develop a stronger desire to read more. Comics, which are seen as a gateway to reading for children, raise a question about the extent to which middle school students prefer them today. The problem statement of this study is “Middle school students’ comic book reading habits.” The study employed the descriptive research model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The population of the study consists of middle school students studying in Silifke, a district of Mersin. The sample includes 30 middle school students selected through simple random sampling. A structured form consisting of 8 questions was used as the data collection tool. Content analysis was applied in the analysis of the data. According to the findings obtained from the interview forms, the majority of the students participating in the study had read comics at some point in their lives, mostly in comic magazines. The number of students who regularly read a comic magazine is less than half of those who do not. Two-thirds of the students think that comics help to develop reading habits. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that in order to foster reading habits among students, they should be introduced to comics more frequently. It can also be suggested that families and teachers include comic magazines in their libraries.