THE READING PRACTICES OF SENEGALESE STUDENTS

The aim of our study was to provide an overview of the reading practices of Senegalese pupils. It was based on a questionnaire survey of 216 pupils. It concluded that pupils do read ! Obvi-ously, this practice is "imposed" by the school environment, but it is also guided by personal desire and for leisure. They read on average between 4 and 6 hours a week. They most often read novels, comic books and magazines. They read above all to keep themselves occupied, but also to escape, to dream, to inform and to educate themselves. The family environment plays an important role in the development of a taste for reading among adolescents. Indeed, pupils who perceive themselves as great readers are those whose parents read a lot and who have a rel-atively large number of books at home. In general, the parents have a post-secondary education and belong to a privileged social category. While the role of the school library in students' reading practice was somewhat highlighted, the role of the librar-ian was not clearly established.