Reading Promotion Programme on literature appreciation among the young adults in Sri Lankan Schools Conducted by the Ministry of Education

Abstract

A pilot reading program as an action research project was introduced by The National Institute of Library & Information Sciences (NILIS) in order to inculcate reading appreciation among young adults in Sri Lankan schools.  A sample of 25 school libraries from the Maho Educational Zone was selected for the research study.  Each grade nine student studying in the above-selected twenty-five schools was given a young adult literature book to be read within fourteen days, after which the student was required to prepare a portfolio based on the book. The school librarians marked the students' portfolio pieces, and this practice was continued up to the beginning of the third semester, using various literary genres. The students completed the given task within the specified period. According to the students' final portfolio evaluation, it was seen that they had gradually developed their competencies under the affective domain based on the above curriculum. Eventually, the Ministry of Education implemented the above program among all the junior and senior secondary schools in Sri Lanka as “Books are the Best Friends” with the assistance of NILIS.