Gender perspective on information literacy: An interdisciplinary and multidimensional analysis within higher education settings

Abstract

Gender is a sociological variable that needs further attention in information literacy studies. This research uses a multidimensional subjective-objective approach to examine the gender differences in the information literacy learning process in a sample of students from different social sciences degree courses at five Spanish universities. Surveys are used to measure the belief in importance (BI) and self-efficacy (SE) they assign to a series of basic information competencies, grouped into the categories of searching, evaluation, processing and communication-dissemination, as well as the levels of actual knowledge (KN) they have about them. Non-parametric methods and factor analysis are used to evaluate the gender similarities and differences. Latent structures show no relevant differences by gender in perceptions (BI and SE), but different patterns are found in knowledge (KN) regarding the acquisition of the key information competencies. To overcome possible stereotypes and contribute to the construction of an all-inclusive perspective that fosters an awareness of the value of equality, it is necessary to incorporate the gender perspective in information and knowledge management studies. There is still little research in this field, and this study opens some paths for further works.