Probing Causal Relationships Between What School Librarians Do and What Learners Gain in School Libraries

2018 ◽  
pp. 217-238
Author(s):  
Marcia A. Mardis ◽  
Faye R. Jones ◽  
Lenese Colson ◽  
Shana Pribesh ◽  
Sue Kimmel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Libraries ◽  
Causal Relationships ◽  
School Librarians

scholarly journals School librarians’ anticipated support for students with SEN: Using a Modified Grounded Theory Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyo Matsudo
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
School Library ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Educational Support ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Special Needs Education ◽  
Library Function ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach

The purpose of this study is examining some suggestions on how school libraries can be involved in Special Needs Education in a helpful way. The Modified Grounded Theory Approach is used as the method for this study. In my analysis I focus on the change in perception of 19 school staff members with respect to changes in the school library function and factors for these changes. Based on the result the school librarian’s anticipated four supports are suggested as follows: providing suitable materials that take into account students’ situation, searching study by team teaching, supporting students’ self-affirmation by sympathetic understanding, and educational support encouraging students’ socialization.

scholarly journals INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN COLLABORATION OF LIBRARIANS IN THE SCHOOL LITERACY MOVEMENT

Edulib ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Riche Cynthia Johan ◽  
Deuis Pramida ◽  
Anah Rohanah ◽  
Inaya Shintia Meidina
Keyword(s):  
Education Program ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Design Collaboration ◽  
School Learning ◽  
Information Sciences

Conducting library learning activities in the classroom is one of the tasks and receivables in the Field Experience Practice (PPL) activities for all students of the Library of Education and Information Sciences University of Indonesia. Good practice research methodology is one of the alternative choices in estimating the steps that can be taken in the Field Experience Practice (PPL) program of students of the Library of Education and Information Sciences University of Indonesia, which will later become a product of collaboration between the school librarians and teachers at school, and can also present a school product design school learning product. Collaborating in the School Literacy Movement (GLS) activities is one of the bills that must be present in the program, wherein every student of the Library and Information Sciences University of Education program students is required to: 1) Be able to prepare the classroom learning collaboration design with coaching teachers, 2) Able to implement library learning practices, and 3) Able to describe Practical Review Results. Through the field experience (PPL) practice, the students of the Library of Education and Information Sciences University of Indonesia's Education program are able to obtain competencies relevant to their field in an optimal way to work in the workplace, especially in the field of school libraries.

STEM academic achievement and perceptions of family support: a gender analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniella LaShaun Smith ◽  
Tandra L. Tyler–Wood
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Role Models ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Achievement Scores ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Stem Careers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quasi Experimental

PurposeThis study examines the results of a STEM unit taught in an elementary school library, with 26 fourth-grade students as the participants.Design/methodology/approachA quasi-experimental design was used. The relationships between the independent variable gender and the perceptions of familial support structures and academic achievement were examined.FindingsFor the entire group, the average academic achievement scores of the participants increased. The increase was not statistically significant. The male students had a statistically significant improvement in their academic achievement scores, and there was a statistically significant decrease in the academic achievement scores of the female students. An increase in the female students' belief that their family was interested in their science classes was correlated with a decrease in their academic achievement scores.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size for this study is small, and the results are not generalizable. Open-ended questions were not included in the data collection instruments. Therefore, it cannot be determined why the overall academic scores may have decreased for female students. Further research is encouraged.Practical implicationsThe results of this study show the potential for STEM activities in school libraries. School librarians can provide students with low-risk, informal learning environments to practice new skills.Social implicationsLibraries equalize the availability of resources that otherwise may not be available to populations underrepresented in STEM careers. School librarians have the potential to serve as much needed STEM role models. The availability of STEM activities in school libraries can make it possible for more students to understand what STEM careers are interesting to them.Originality/valueThere are very few studies to examine the results of STEM activities implemented in school libraries that use quasi-experimental or experimental research designs. This study adds to the corpus of research that can be used to support the preparation of students for STEM careers with activities in school libraries.

scholarly journals What is the literacy supportive role of the school librarian in the United Kingdom?

2020 ◽  
pp. 096100062096456
Author(s):  
Margaret K. Merga
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
School Librarian ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Supportive Role ◽  
Depth Analysis

Building students’ literacy skills is a key educative purpose of contemporary schooling. While libraries can play a key role in fostering literacy and related reading engagement in schools, more needs to be known about school librarians’ role in promoting these goals. To this end, this article seeks to identify the nature and scope of the literacy supportive role required of the school librarian in the United Kingdom. It also investigates how this aspect is situated within the broader competing role requirements of the profession. Using a hybrid approach to content analysis including both qualitative and quantitative methods, this article presents in-depth analysis of 40 recent job description documents recruiting school librarians in the United Kingdom to investigate these research aims. The vast majority of documents (92.5%) included literacy supportive roles or characteristics of a school librarian, and recurring salient components included supporting literature selection, having a broad and current knowledge of literature, promoting and modelling reading for pleasure, devising and supporting reading and literature events, promoting a whole-school reading culture, working closely with students to support reading and literacy skill development, and implementing and supporting reading programmes. This literacy supportive role was found to sit within a potentially highly complex and diverse work role which may compete with the literacy supportive role for time and resourcing in school libraries. This research suggests that the role of school librarians in the United Kingdom is both complex and evolving, and that school librarians in the United Kingdom have a valuable literacy supportive role to play in their school libraries.

Collaborative resource sharing between public and school libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniella Smith ◽  
Misty Shea ◽  
Wei-Ning Wu
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Youth Services ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Youth Service ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine youth service librarians’ use of collaborative collection development (CCD) behaviors and interlibrary loan (ILL) to collaborate with school librarians. Design/methodology – A quantitative design was implemented with a self-administered survey that was placed online. Findings – Public youth services librarians in the USA believe it is important to collaborate with school librarians. However, they are not frequently using collaborative resource sharing strategies. Public youth services librarians that have more experience, understand trends and issues in school libraries and feel they have knowledge of collaborative strategies are more likely to engage in collaborative resource sharing. Research limitations – The study was limited to 265 public librarians serving youth in the USA. This study does not present the perspectives of school libraries. Social implications – CCD and ILL between public and school libraries are overlooked practices for building relationships between public and school librarians that should be explored. Presenting the benefits of these strategies during training programs may increase the resources that youth can access, thus having an overall impact on the quality of life in communities. Collaborating will also help communities understand the value of libraries as institutions for promoting lifelong learning. Originality/value – The results provide evidence that public youth service librarians in the USA believe in the importance of collaborative relationships with school librarians. However, they do not frequently use ILL or engage in CCD behaviors with school librarians. Using ILL and CCD are two strategies that may be used to build stronger relationships.

School librarians in Sweden: A case study in change

IFLA Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley S. J. Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Curriculum Changes ◽  
Education Act ◽  
School Librarianship ◽  
The University

This study reveals the complexities and dynamics of law, governance, and practice that have impacted school libraries in Sweden. The Education Act of 2010 and the Swedish Library Act of 2013, which mandated school libraries, did not address staffing, and that loophole has been given recent attention, especially in light of national curriculum changes and librarian shortages. The University of Borås’s School of Library and Information Science is the largest, leading institution within Sweden for preparing professional librarians. Their school librarianship faculty is in the process of changing its curriculum. This paper explains the school librarianship situation in Sweden as a case study of a change process in the profession.

The roles of the school librarians as information literacy specialists

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 314-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Lo ◽  
Joyce Chao-chen Chen ◽  
Zvjezdana Dukic ◽  
You-ra Youn ◽  
Yuji Hirakue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
South Korea ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
The Other ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the different roles and expectations of the school librarians as information literacy (IL) instructors between Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, South Korea, and Taipei. School librarians are not merely managers of the school libraries nowadays; they are also expected to serve as administrators, teaching consultants, information specialists and IL teachers, etc. Unfortunately, in many countries, especially in Asia, there has always been a lack of understanding on the parts of the classroom teachers and school administration about their role as IL specialists in the public school system. Design/methodology/approach – The school librarians in Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, South Korea and Taipei were invited to take part in a questionnaire survey. A total number of 466 self-completed questionnaires were collected from all 5 regions. Findings – The results indicated that the school librarians in both Taipei and South Korea outperformed the other regions, in terms of the scope and extent of duties and responsibilities these school librarians undertook as IL skills instructors. The staffing and organizational structures amongst the school libraries in Taipei also tended to be far more affluent and “departmentalized” in comparison to the other four regions. Results also indicated that the amount of IL instructions carried out by the school librarians were directly proportional to the frequencies of collaborations the school librarians carried out with other subject teachers as well as the extent the librarians themselves could contribute to the curriculum as both information consultants and curriculum facilitators. Finally, the amount and level of reference duties performed by these school librarians for supporting the teaching of other subject teachers was another factor contributing to the overall success of IL instructions programmes being carried out. Originality/value – The complex interactions of global trend and local responses in education system cannot easily be understood without the use of comparative studies (Arnove and Torres, 1999). The value of comparative studies lies in its potentials in highlighting the strengths and deficiencies of the education systems being examined and thereby identifying valuable features of both foreign and local systems, as well as exposing defects for necessary improvements. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of cross-regional comparative research on IL programmes carried out via school libraries in East Asia. This study aims to provide a cross-analysis of empirical data collected in five different regions in East Asia for examining the issues of the role of the school librarians as IL skills specialists, by looking at their relationships with other colleagues as well as their role as curriculum facilitator within the school community as a whole.

scholarly journals Information Literacy through Guided Inquiry: Preparing Students for the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol C. Kuhlthau
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
School Library ◽  
Research Process ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Guided Inquiry ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
University Center ◽  
The Impact

Across the globe, school libraries play an essential role in preparing students for living and working in the 21st century through information literacy. The Rutgers University Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries (CISSL) promotes this initiative in information literacy through research on the impact of school libraries on student learning, research symposia for international scholars, and training institutes for school librarians and teachers. Our research shows that guided inquiry is a dynamic, innovative way of developing information literacy through the school library. Guided inquiry is carefully planned, closely supervised, targeted intervention of an instructional team of school librarians and teachers that leads students through the research process toward independent learning. Guided inquiry develops research skills and subject knowledge as well as fostering cooperative learning, motivation, reading comprehension, language development and social skills that underlie competency for our young people in the 21st century.

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