How can we implement information literacy teaching in a secondary

environment in order to guide the process.

2.1.6 How can we implement information literacy teaching in a secondary

school?

Examining change management theory in relation to information literacy will increase our understanding of the problematic nature of developing this work in secondary schools. Theory on introducing change in educational settings (Fullan 2007) has several key considerations: need, clarity, complexity, quality and practicality of the initiative, local factors, head teacher, the role of teachers and external factors.

Those involved must perceive the need to change and that the future state will be better than the current situation (Fullan 2007). For instance, students are more likely to retain and use skills, when they are taught at the point of need as opposed to hearing about them in a stand-alone generic talk about skills (Todd and Kuhlthau 2004 and Tabberer 1987) because they can immediately see the link between the learning and a better assessment score. Equally therefore teachers must perceive that not only will the teaching of information literacy be relevant to their curriculum needs and priorities but it will make the process easier or make the outcome better. “There is some feeling that the information skills issue in the school is related to using the library and looking things up.” (Lincoln 1987 p.73). If the goals, benefits and processes are not communicated clearly then the danger is that this will not be perceived as relevant and the

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change will fail (Miles 1987 in Information Management Associates 2009 p.7). Therefore in introducing any information literacy initiative establishing a clear link between what is already happening and how this can be improved is essential.

The second aspect of Fullan’s theory, clarity, relates to language and understanding. Clearly there is still much work to do in this area as criticisms are made about the term information literacy and how little understood it is outside of librarianship (Bawden 2008; Beetham, McGill and Littlejohn 2009). In part as discussed in the digital literacy versus information literacy section this is about conflicting perceptions of what it means to be information literate within the librarianship profession. In the first instance school librarians need to define information literacy so they can articulate and communicate what it is, to teachers. As we have seen throughout this chapter this is not straightforward as the literature contains conflicting definitions, a variety of models and so little on pedagogy.

At a local level the librarian needs to participate in school forums in order to discuss

information literacy with teachers (Hopkins 2007). This could engender a process where joint meanings and understandings are evolved for the inclusion of information literacy in teaching and learning. Training to provide “action images” of what the skills look like in practice is essential to the change being adopted by staff (Miles 1987 in Information Management

Associates 2009 p.7). Without clarity of language and knowledge of what the change will look like, there is increased anxiety for both teachers and librarians, roles will be unclear and this can affect the level of engagement.

Theories that read like a series of bullet points appear prescriptive and deceptively straight forward but the reality of practice in any organisation is a complex one. Equally in a school setting it can be observed that ‘Educational change is technically simple but socially complex’ (Fullan 2007 p.84). Indeed one might go further and acknowledge that the complexity is such that it is often far from technically straightforward too. In my experience when a proposal is introduced for changes to teaching within a school, how well it is received, will depend on the quality of the relationships with those listening. Their level of cognitive authority in the eyes of the audience will be tacitly questioned. The listeners will make judgements about the quality and practicality of the proposal. The history of change in the school will be influential for these speakers too (Fullan 2007). If these have been positive experiences then they are more likely to be open to further change, but where these have been negative, there may well be some

resistance to new proposals at that time. The issue of quality raised by Fullan (2007) is a multi- layered one in terms of how teachers perceive the proposal itself, the quality of their relationship with the presenter and that person’s cognitive authority in their eyes.

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The local factors referred to in Fullan’s theory (2007 p.93) relate to support for these changes from outside of the school, for instance, from the local education authority. Information literacy is not a government sponsored policy so it is unlikely to be on the agenda of any education authority in the United Kingdom. The role of the head teacher and their influence (Office for Standards in Education 2006) was examined earlier in this chapter and in relation to Fullan’s theory their role is recognised as crucial. They set the tone for a culture of collaboration and can enable the librarian to move proposals for information literacy forward. If there is a culture of collaboration then teachers will not be working in isolation but have the “will” (Miles 1987 in Information Management Associates 2009 p.7) to exchange ideas and develop activities for information literacy teaching.

Complexity surrounds all stages of change from initiation to implementation and continuation. The elements of Fullan’s theory (2007) regarding implementation also relate to the continuation of the change, the process of embedding it, to become part of a school’s culture. Staff training on the initiative to develop and enhance their “skills” (Miles 1987 in Information Management Associates 2009 p.7) must be put in place to achieve the envisaged change. This should remain an on-going practice, to inculcate new teachers and to engender evaluation and innovation by the current team. Again the head teacher’s vision for school development is important (Office for Standards in Education 2006) as this will determine whether information literacy remains a priority when competing with new incoming measures and other innovations that must be accommodated.

The external factors mentioned in Fullan’s theory (2007 p. 98) refer to the role of central government and the opinion held by others outside of the school regarding the education system. The professionalism of teachers, the nature of what they do and should know, has been subject to intense scrutiny by both media and government policy (Burns 2012; Children, Young People and Schools Committee 2011). The measurement of teaching and learning via school league tables, OFSTED inspections and performance reviews mean schools place emphasis on attainment and outcomes rather than on the skills and processes involved. This means change for information literacy will need careful facilitating to find a balance between teaching content and a focus on skills.

The school setting is a complex, turbulent environment that generates messiness and ideas (Fullan 2004 p. 10) and it is the individuals who are key to navigating a way through. Conflict, disagreement and setbacks are part of any change experience (Markless et al 2009 p.155). There has been a recognition that professional development is key to raising standards, hence the creation of teacher learning communities (Leahy and Williams 2010; Hopkins 2007). These communities are driven by the notion of the teacher as a researcher of their own practice. For

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some teachers this represents a much needed sense of personal autonomy over professional practice, an approach originally promoted by Stenhouse (1975). In schools where they exist they provide librarians with the potential to become more formally involved in the discussion of teaching and learning (Hopkins 2007) and most importantly, through the experiments, to introduce information literacy. Sharing ideas and creating the knowledge needed to take the change forward comes from contributing to the bigger picture that is school improvement.

2.1.7 The implications of the literature review for the empirical research

The performance of schools and teachers are measured through exam results, academic monitoring of students, lesson observations and performance reviews of teachers. Therefore if information literacy is to be included as part of the school’s agenda by head teachers and teachers they must see how it contributes to raising attainment. So, the overall purpose of this research, to explore how information literacy levels in a secondary school can be raised, is a pertinent issue for librarians and teachers.

In order to influence the school agenda librarians need to articulate clearly what information literacy is and some of the ways it can be taught (Fullan 2007; Miles 1987 in Information Management Associates 2009). Many definitions of information literacy have been published and each makes sense of the subject contingent to the writer’s own context, within their particular circumstances, for their specific tasks (Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1990; Wray and Lewis 1997; American Library Association 1989 in Bawden 2001; Society of College and University Libraries 2003; Chartered Institute Of Library and Information Professionals 2004). As a practitioner in a secondary school, reading these definitions often creates a sense of dissonance. There is a feeling of affinity when reading Marland’s nine steps (1981) but written more than thirty years ago and proven in practice to have serious limitations (Tabberer 1987) it falls short of supporting practice today. Interviewing teachers in this secondary school will enable me to identify how they view and understand information literacy and therefore to examine what they see as relevant in today’s context. An understanding of this perspective could help inform future proposals for developing information literacy.

A study of the empirical research in relation to the data and the literature will be analysed so that I can define what it means to be information literate in a secondary school context of the 21st century. Throughout this review, I have examined the literature to identify different aspects of teaching, learning and school culture that contribute to raising information literacy levels, but this led to the question: what do these levels look like? There have been attempts to create self- assessment tools (Eisenberg and Berkowitz 1990) and ways of measuring the library’s impact on learning behaviors (Williams and Wavell 2001). None have captured a picture of personal progress and changes in understanding. It is not easy to assess these features without a sense of

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the schema that illustrates the elements of what progress looks like in the learning of

information literacy. In an attempt to address this notion of progress I have created a table which is shown in chapter five with an explanation of how this has been derived from reflecting on the literature and infused with my own professional experience. It is intended as a proposal to stimulate discussion.

If we identify what levels of information literacy look like then this needs to be underpinned by methods for supporting students to make progress between them. There is not a great deal of empirical research published identify pedagogy that has been found to be effective for information literacy, so in this research I will seek pictures of practice for developing these skills. We need a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of practices within the socio-cultural context that is this secondary school. I will draw together what the literature has found to be effective with what I discover in the empirical research to identify useful teaching practices. Examining strengths and weaknesses of current practice may also identify ways for librarians and teachers to work together to raise information literacy levels.

The theories about librarian roles in the literature (Kuhlthau 1993; Montiel-Overall 2005) will be compared and contrasted with the views that emerge from the data in this research. This will help ascertain what it is of the librarian’s role that is currently valued by the teachers. This may provide material for fellow librarians to reflect on when developing aspects of their role. By comparing this data with views from the literature gaps or weaknesses may be perceived and this could point a pathway forward, for future development.

The literature has identified factors important when implementing change in a school setting (Fullan 2007). By exploring the teachers’ perspectives the research will be able to study the smaller picture of which factors affect daily practice. The literature has shown how the librarian’s role can be affected by these cultural factors (Limberg 2007; Streatfield and Markless1994; Valentine and Nelson 1988). So by ascertaining the degree of teacher understanding for the importance of information literacy and the teaching aspects of the librarian’s role, we may be able to gauge how much work has yet to be done.

In document Information literacy and the secondary school (Page 47-51)