Reading habits of secondary school students in Africa: a scoping review of trends, determinants, and educational outcomes

Abstract

Reading is a foundational literacy practice through which secondary school learners access subject knowledge, build language proficiency, develop academic confidence and participate in wider social life. Across Africa, however, concerns persist that adolescents read mainly for examinations, rely heavily on short digital content and have uneven access to functional libraries, print materials and supportive home reading environments. This scoping review maps recent evidence on the reading habits of secondary school students in Africa, with attention to publication trends, reading behaviours, determinants, educational outcomes, challenges and research gaps. The review was guided by PRISMA ScR reporting principles and recent JBI scoping review guidance. Journal articles, reports and repository records published from 2016 to 2025 were identified through Google Scholar, ERIC, AJOL, DOAJ, institutional repositories and journal websites. Sixteen studies from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe met the inclusion criteria and were synthesised descriptively and thematically. Findings revealed that the evidence base is growing but remains uneven, with a strong concentration in Nigeria and limited comparative, longitudinal and intervention research. Across studies, students read most frequently for examinations and academic tasks, while recreational reading is weaker and highly dependent on motivation, access, gendered preferences, parental support, teacher encouragement, library services, peer influence and digital media use. Positive reading habits are consistently linked with academic achievement, language development, comprehension, self-directed learning and critical literacy, while social media distraction, examination pressure, weak libraries, poverty and poor home literacy environments constrain reading development. The study concludes that strengthening adolescent reading in Africa requires an ecosystem response that integrates library renewal, classroom reading routines, parent engagement, digital reading literacy, student-centred text selection and national literacy policies that treat reading for pleasure as a serious educational investment.