STUDENTS’ PREFERENCE IN REFERENCE TO PRINTED READING BOOKS AND DIGITAL BOOKS: THEY PREFER READING FROM PRINTED BOOKS, WHEREAS THEY READ IN DIGITAL FORM

Gzim XHAMBAZI, Ardita CEKA, Arbresha ZENKI DALIPI

Abstract

Current students represent the generation that has experienced numerous changes during their education due to the progression of new technologies. Reading, as one of the most reliable form of learning transformed its form. Many school and university textbooks are now available in both printed and electronic/digital formats. The problem of this research was to find out the preferences of students regarding the form of reading, as well as the reality in what form they read to acquire knowledge. The research was conducted in May 2022, with a sample of 50 students randomly selected from different academic years. The research results show that 96% of the surveyed students prefer reading from printed books, and only 4% prefer reading from electronic/digital books. The other dependent variable was dedicated to reality which the students mostly read from. In this case, the results were different, namely 54% of the surveyed students stated that they mostly read electronic/digital books. The testing of the dependent variables resulted in a value of p=.000, which proves that there is a significant difference between the students' preferences concerning the form of text (digital or printed) and the reality concerning the form of reading. The results from the research show that there is no significant difference between the students' averages, depending on the academic year, since the value p=.694. Regardless of their academic year, students prefer literature in printed form, while they mostly read digital literature.

Pages: 92 - 98