Motivating African-American Students Through Information Literacy Instruction: Exploring the Link Between Encouragement and Academic Self-Concept

Abstract

This article argues that information literacy instruction has a unique role to play in increasing academic motivation among AfricanAmerican college students. Drawing on recent work in student motivation, this article argues that perception of faculty encouragement is the single most important predictor of African-American college students' academic self-concept, trumping both academic performance (e.g., grades) and school environment (i.e., historically Black colleges or universities vs. predominantly White colleges or universities). Given this link between encouragement and academic self-concept, information literacy instruction becomes an arena in which librarians may support the development of students' selfconcept, thus increasing motivation. This article discusses the role of encouragement in information literacy instruction and suggests how to achieve greater perception of encouragement both during and after instruction. Lastly, this article considers ramifications for instructional services programs at historically Black colleges or universities by reviewing recent experiences at Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Information Competences and Academic Achievement: A Dataset

“…Although IL has grown in importance during the past few decades, there is still no consensus about its importance for academic success and on how it relates to student dropout rates. As mentioned earlier in this article, to the best of our knowledge, most research in this field has been conducted by librarians who have attempted to assess the impact of an intervention, frequently for minority groups (e.g., [27,[37][38][39][40][41]). The described dataset intends to let researchers further explore how IL and academic achievement are related, now incorporating machine learning methods into previously used quantitative tools.…”

Multilateral Relationship between Information Literacy, Self-Concept and Metacognitive Ability

“…For instance [52][53][54], postulate that personal abilities are vital in scrutinizing the connection between information literacy and the self-concept which is the bedrock of personal ability and academic attainment. Such scrutiny is necessary in order to salvage those who may be victims of self-destructive beliefs which may also be damaging to students [55].…”

Browsing through Bias: The Library of Congress Classification and Subject Headings for African American Studies and LGBTQIA Studies

“…Knowledge of LCC and LCSH for interdisciplinary research is particularly important in the unique circumstances of librarians serving African American students. Librarians who have a goal of improving information literacy may take note of the findings of Mortimore and Wall (2009), who note that African American students are most receptive to instruction when they perceive there to be a nurturing, encouraging relationship between instructors and students. Among the ways instructors can cultivate an experience of nurture is to make explicit the information search process-such as by explaining how library tools like classification and subject headings are created and applied.…”