Indigenous Students' Interest in Studying in a Christian Religious College

Reading is the key in any learning process, even if it is in the context of higher education. The problem that occurs is the lack of interest in reading among the society. The purpose of the study is to comprehend both the phenomena of indigenous students’ low reading interest at Christian religious universities as well as the factors that influence their interest. Descriptive phenomenology research was used in this study. Seven students at the college met the requirements for the subject, including their active enrollment in Christian religious colleges and their willingness to participate in research on a voluntary basis. Thematic analysis was used for analyzing data. The researcher identified three main themes and seven sub-themes. The first theme is internal factors that have an impact on the interest and fondness for reading, consisting of one sub-theme, namely the internal interest of students who are less fond of reading. The second main theme, namely external factors, tends to be less supportive of interest and fondness for reading, which consists of three sub-themes such as social media and the immediate environment that do not support reading interest, attitudes of parents and family regarding diverse reading interests, and reading activity having a negative image among friends and peers. The third main theme is support and obstacles from the context of religious tertiary institutions, which consists of three sub-themes such as reading due to demands from assignments given by lecturers, lack of variety and completeness of books in the campus library, and exams and quizzes forcing subjects to read books. The implications of this study are input for students, lecturers, and higher education institutions in enhancing students’ enthusiasm in reading.