Nature Of Information Literacy Research Articles

Primary School Children's Interaction with Library Media: Information Literacy in Practice


 
 
 In the context of a study of professional development in relation to information literacy, children at four primary schools were observed as they worked with a variety of media in various curriculum areas. The challenges they encountered are discussed against the bund of the teachers' understanding of information skills and resource-based learning.1
 
 
 
 Educators and librarians have acknowledged that the skills that constitute information literacy are becoming crucial to everyday life. However, it is suggested by some that students in general are not being equipped to meet those demands in the 1 990s any better than they were in the 1980s. For example, since 1981, when Marland published Information skills in the secondary curriculum, there have been many initiatives to develop and promote the teaching of information skills in schools. Much of the widely disseminated research prompted by that report and reviewed by Rogers (1994), confirms that the original working party recommendations remain relevant today. Indeed, Rogers quotes extracts from British government reports which suggest the overall picture in schools has not changed significantly at all.
 The fact is that library and study skills have been taught in schools for nearly a hundred years, but many students still cannot easily find and critically use information. In some schools, information literacy is enhancing teaching and learning, but the information age has yet to reach others. Information technology and pressures on library resources and services can, in this context, be seen as a catalyst for critically examining teaching techniques necessary for fostering information literacy.
 Poor performance in finding and using information has in the past been attributed to a lack of explicit classroom attention to the cognitive aspects of the task (e.g. Irving, 1985; Kuhlthau, 1987). Yet the thinking underlying information literacy may be hidden from teachers and few studies illuminate process issues from the viewpoint of the students themselves. Further, whereas twenty years ago we focused on getting our most able students to think critically and do "research projects" at school, we now face the challenge of helping our least able students to solve information problems efficiently. Consequently three factors are of central concern in developing information literacy. One is the nature of information literacy itself, the second is teachers' understanding of that concept and the third relates to the conceptions of inexperienced information users.

A Roadmap for Assessing Student Learning Using the New Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

In the next several months, ACRL will likely approve a new and important document: the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education. This document is intended to replace the Standards for Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, a seminal publication that has guided information literacy instruction for well over a decade. Since 2012, the ACRL Information Literacy for Competency Standards for Higher Education Task Force has drafted and revised the new Framework document. This process has been very open, and as a result, has inspired academic librarians to engage in renewed reflection and conversation about the nature of information literacy and its instruction. At this writing, the Framework is still a work in progress. Multiple drafts have been circulated among librarians, feedback has been elicited, and the final revisions and submission to ACRL are expected to be completed in a few months.

Discovery: The Information Literate WorldCat

Discovery: The Information Literate WorldCat

Evidence, argument and social responsibility: first‐year students’ experiences of information literacy when researching an essay

This paper describes a phenomenographic study of undergraduates’ experiences of information literacy when researching an essay in a first‐year environmental studies course. Three hierarchical categories were identified that represented students’ experiences: (i) seeking evidence; (ii) developing an argument; and (iii) learning as a social responsibility. The critical variation that delimited the categories included students’ focus on learning, focus on the essay task, use of information in the course, use of information in the essay, use of contrasting perspectives and development of argument. Strategies for designing curricula are suggested based on the educationally critical aspects that the study reveals, and the nature of information literacy as a ‘generic’ skill is questioned. The study has significance for students, teachers, librarians, academic skills advisers and academic developers in higher education.

An International Study on Principal Influence and Information Services in Schools: Synergy in Theme and Methods

Support of the principal is a key factor in the implementation of effective programs in schools, An international study of the principal's role in developing and supporting school library programs was conducted in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Scotland, and South Korea. The purpose of the study was to provide information, for principals and teacher-librarians in countries throughout the world that might inform their efforts to develop information-literate school communities. Principals and teacher-librarians completed three survey instruments: (a) participant demographics; (b) the participants' perceptions and beliefs about the principals' current and future roles; and (c) the participants' views on such concerns as the strengths and challenges of the school library, the contributions of teacher-librarians to teaching and learning, the nature of information literacy, and barriers to integration of information skills. The overall findings of the research project included the following: (a) principals and teacher-librarians differed in age and gender; (b) beliefs of principals and teacher-librarians about the role of the principal were well aligned except where librarians were not also qualified teachers; (c) principals and teacherlibrarians differed most on their current and future perceptions of the role of the principal in advocating and facilitating the development of an information-literate school community; and (d) principals and teacher-librarians agreed that principals should spend more time informing new teaching staff about the importance of collaboration with the teacher-librarian.