Reading Habits, Socioeconomic Conditions, Occupational Aspiration and Academic Achievement in Vietnamese Junior High School Students

Thi-Thu-Hien Le, Trung Tran, Thi-Phuong-Thao Trinh, Chi-Thanh Nguyen, Thuy-Phuong-Tram Nguyen, Thu-Trang Vuong, Thi-Hanh Vu, Dieu-Quynh Bui, Ha-My Vuong, Phuong-Hanh Hoang, Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Ho Toan and Quan-Hoang Vuong
Additional contact information
Thi-Thu-Hien Le: Faculty of Pedagogy, University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Trung Tran: Faculty of Basic, Vietnam Academy for Ethnic Minorities, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thi-Phuong-Thao Trinh: Department of Mathematics, Thai Nguyen University of Education, Thai Nguyen 24000, Vietnam
Chi-Thanh Nguyen: Faculty of Pedagogy, University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thuy-Phuong-Tram Nguyen: Duc Trong High School, Lam Dong 66000, Vietnam
Thu-Trang Vuong: Sciences Po Paris, 75337 Paris, France
Thi-Hanh Vu: School of Economics and International Business, Foreign Trade University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Dieu-Quynh Bui: National Centre for Sustainable Development of General Education Quality, Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences, 101 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Ha-My Vuong: Hanoi Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Hoang Minh Giam Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Phuong-Hanh Hoang: National Centre for Sustainable Development of General Education Quality, Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences, 101 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Minh-Hoang Nguyen: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Oita 874-8577, Japan
Quan-Hoang Vuong: Center for Interdisciplinary Social Research, Phenikaa University, Ha Dong district, Hanoi 100803, Vietnam
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Quan-Hoang Vuong

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 18, 1-29

Abstract: Reading practices play an important role in the learning process of students. Especially in a fast-changing world where knowledge about nature and society is in a constant state of flux, book reading helps students foster skills such as thinking, valuing, adaptability and creativity for sustainable development. This research study used a dataset of 1676 observations of junior high school students from Northern Vietnam to explore students’ academic achievement and its association with their reading passion, family socio economic condition, parental education and occupational aspiration. The empirical results show that higher grades in STEM-related subjects are predicted by reading interest (β Readbook = 0.425, p < 0.0001), with students who love reading books achieve higher score than those who take no interest in books. Remarkably, the education level of the mother strongly enhances academic performance, with β = 0.721 ( p < 0.0001) in cases of mother having a university diploma or higher. Students coming from wealthy families are more likely to buy books whereas borrowing from the library is the main source of books for students who grow up in not-rich families. However, even among wealthy families, investment into buying books still rely more on personal interest, despite the aforementioned educational benefits of book reading, as evidenced by an over 7 percentage point disparity between the likelihood of purchasing books among wealthy-family students who took an interest in reading (45%) versus students of the same background who did not like to read (38.7%). The results present implications for education policy making with a vision towards United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education.

Keywords: junior high school students; STEM; reading practices; occupational aspiration; parental influence; socioeconomic background; academic achievement; Vietnam; quality education; sustainable development goal 4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Reading habits, socioeconomic conditions, occupational aspiration and academic achievement in Vietnamese junior high school students (2019)
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