In my last post I cited the critical juncture educational professionals find themselves at during the epistemic shift in schools towards the dynamic information landscape of an increasingly hybridized world. In this post I would like to suggest some of the current information literacy approaches which I have found effective in catering for the social, cultural
and developmental backgrounds of learners while proactively addressing the the information literacy and information needs, skills and interests of learners.
Constructivism has been a prolific approach to standardized literacy interventions across modern educational systems. The introduction to Teacher Librarianship at CSU likewise greatly emphasizes the benefits of inquiry based methods as effective pedagogical responses to the changing information literacy needs of 21st Century learners. The Guided Inquiry Design method developed by Kuhlthau et al. (2015), in particular provides a convenient framework from which TLs may lead collaboratively alongside learners through the research process. The benefits of this method are many, however at this moment in time in which society is reunifying and reordering itself after many rapid and deeply impactful changes, it is the caring, affective aspect of this method that may be its greatest asset today.
Guided Inquiry Design as an information literacy model provides that structure from which TLs can “lead from the middle”. To lead from the middle to me, is to accept a role of servant leadership in which TLs not only facilitate informational needs of learners, but also foster relationships to information that transcend the borders of the brick and mortar school where they may or may not currently find themselves, as a result of unforeseen health or political interventions. Cox and Korodaj (2019) draw on the earlier work of Lupton to highlight how leading from the middle can be envisioned so that TLs engage their whole school perspective to ensure skills of critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, literacy and ICT, particularly with the connections to literature, digital citizenship, intellectual integrity and referencing are accessible to all throughout and across the breadth of their learning . Leading in such a manner is a powerfully understated form of advocacy that slowly but surely reinforces the informational lives of young people.
Pihl et al. (2017) emphasize the significance of TLs reconceptualizing literacy education by treating literacies as “forms of social practices rather than autonomous skills” highlighting how their partnerships with teachers across disciplines can facilitate work with multimodal literacies and inquiry-based learning, which are essential in the present era of digitalization.
More than this, they point to how teacher and librarian partnerships facilitate work with students’ and communities’ multiple literacies, intercultural education and community building in multicultural communities. In this way, by promoting general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum TLs may reiterate the purpose of literacy education as democratic education. As Gert Biesta has contended democratic literacy education develops literacies and empowerment among all pupils and students (Biesta, 2015).
Connecting to my last post about the challenges of the Information Profession in the 21st Century, TLs must have a strong moral compass and virtue based approach to education in order to resist Neo-liberal policies which prioritize literacy education in terms of high-stakes international standardized assessments and competition, the teaching of individual literacy skills, outcome-based education (Davies & Bansel, 2007). As Pihl et al. (2017) have demonstrated, these assumptions about literacy interventions are false, as research indicates that these policies, in fact, strengthen the reproduction of social inequalities through education.
If TLs are to model information strategies that build in resilience necessary for an unforecastable future it would appear to be of great value for those active in the profession should have a have a rich understanding of the
school community and curriculum and the situated nature of practice.
In my next post I will explore how the general capabilities of intercultural understanding and critical thinking are key to reifying information literacy theory into praxis that works towards a realization of espoused values of global citizenship in the 21st Century.
References
Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of Research, Development and Policy, 50(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12109
Cox, E. & Korodaj, L. (2019). Leading from the sweet spot: embedding the library and the teacher librarian in your school community. November 2019 ACCESS. https://studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Cox-and-Korodaj-ACCESS-November-2019.pdf
Davies, B. & Bansel, P. (2007). Neoliberalism and education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(3), 247-259.
Kuhlthau, C., Maniotes, L.K. & Caspari, A.K. (2015). Guided inquiry: Learning in the 21st century, 2nd edition. Libraries Unlimited.
Pihl, J., Carlsten, T.C. & van der Kooij, K.S. (2017). Why teacher and librarian partnerships in literacy education in the 21st century? SensePublishers Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-899-0