Abstract:

Previous studies, on different samples of people, focusing on book reading habits consistantly show that the Turkish society has a low level of book reading. As one of the best ways to appreciate time, reading books is a very important skill for students and/or individuals to acquire. The foundation for book reading lay in childhood with the help of parents and teachers. By setting good examples for children, parents and teachers can help them to become book reading individuals in the future. The purpose of this study was to determine the book reading habits, views and attitudes of student teachers from the Physical Education and Sport Department in the Teacher Education program. A two part questionnaire that includes demographic questions and questions about attitude towards book reading were administered to 120 student teachers (female=50, male=70). The book reading attitude questionnaire is a valid and reliable questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that the ma- jority of the student families did not have a personal library (61,7%). Female teacher canditates allocated more money to buy books than those of male teacher candidaties (Female=66,0%, Male=45,7%).