Purpose
Ideally, information literacy instruction is sequenced throughout students’ academic careers, reinforcing and building on earlier instruction. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify structural problems that potentially impact student learning. This research surveyed school librarians and academic instruction librarians along the K-20 pipeline to capture information about their instruction programs, their pedagogical approaches and their perceptions on student information literacy skills at points of transition.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a 58-item survey instrument to capture the perceptions on elements of information literacy instruction from school librarians and academic instruction librarians in the state of Utah. The exploratory survey generated 255 eligible responses.
Findings
The study identifies several areas where the information literacy pipeline has challenges: staffing, scheduling, curriculum integration, teacher collaboration and student assessment. Suggestions for improvement include providing educational support for paraprofessionals, facilitating cross-institutional collaboration and creating a scope and sequence document that spans the entire educational spectrum paired with specifically teaching for transfer.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to surveying the perceptions of library employees who teach students information literacy as part of a school or university. Study findings imply that better support for information literacy learners requires increased collaboration across the pipeline.
Originality/value
Information literacy education is often siloed – in the way it is taught, studied and discussed. This research is unique in that it explores the information literacy pipeline as a whole, as each level of instruction is related to the next and studying a single section might obscure larger issues.
Purpose
This paper aims to demonstrate the variety of ways institutions and their libraries approach student success both conceptionally and operationally.
Design/methodology/approach
Librarians from nine different institutions of higher education were given a series of questions about student success on their campuses and in their libraries. They responded with written essays describing their experiences and perspectives.
Findings
The contributed pieces are collected together and display a shared interest in defining “student success,” aligning strategic planning with student success initiatives and establishing (and assessing) strong infrastructure to support student success.
Originality/value
These examples help us observe what is happening throughout higher education and see potential paths forward at our own institutions engaged in this work.
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