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Literacy and Society, Culture, Media, & EducationGhent University 9-11 February 2012

Participatory Workshop on Information Literacy in Education and Policy Actions THE SCHOOLS SECTOR

Facilitator

Dr. Sabina CisekJagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

EMPATIC project

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http://empat-ic.eu/eng/Project funded by the European Commission

under the Lifelong Learning Programme

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Presentation contents• What is Information Literacy? And why to care about it?

• IL is closely related to the EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM – in general and the TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS – in particular

• Information Literacy is widely recognized as an essential competence for participation in general and higher education, the workplace and society

• European Union, Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy and the School Sector

• What is SCHOOL SECTOR from the EMPATIC point of view?

• Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• What we would like you to do?

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What is Information Literacy? And why to care about it?

• Information Literacy (IL) – both as a notion/research problem and practice – is not a simple issue, has various aspects and functions in different contexts.

• IL has two interrelated dimensions: – social (IL = social objective) – individual (IL = cognitive acquisition of individuals)

• Information Literacy is – at a minimum – a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to successfully find, retrieve, analyze, evaluate and use information.

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What is Information Literacy? And why to care about it?

• As a result there are many characteristics of IL but most agree that: – IL is MUCH MORE than computer, digital, internet or

even media literacy – IL is IMPORTANT for all – people, businesses, nations

… (For whom and why – see slide 7)– IL is closely related to the EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM in

general and the TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS in particular (Why? See slide 6)

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IL is closely related to the EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM – in general and the TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS – in particular

• Both CRITICAL THINKING and LIFELONG LEARNING (LLL) are not possible without IL competences

• Pupils/students LEARN MORE EFFECTIVELY if they are information literate

• „Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning.” (ACRL, http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/standards.pdf)

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Information Literacy is widely recognized as an essential competence for participation in general and higher education,

the workplace and society.

The UNESCO’s Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning (2005) says: “Information Literacy (…) is crucial to the competitive advantage of individuals, enterprises (especially small and medium enterprises), regions and nations; provides the key to effective access, use and creation of content to support economic development, education, health and human services, and all other aspects of contemporary societies (…)”. “Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion of all nations.”

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European Union, Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy and the School Sector

• EU promotes Lifelong Learning (LLL) http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/lifelong_learning/c11054_en.htm

• EU introduces European Qualification Framework (EQF) for Lifelong Learning – “As an instrument for the promotion of lifelong learning, the EQF encompasses all

levels of qualifications acquired in general, vocational as well as academic education and training. Additionally, the framework addresses qualifications acquired in initial and continuing education and training. The eight reference levels are described in terms of learning outcomes. (…) In the EQF a learning outcome is defined as a statement of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process. The EQF therefore emphasizes the results of learning rather than focusing on inputs such as length of study. Learning outcomes are specified in three categories – as knowledge, skills and competence.” http://ec.europa.eu/education/pub/pdf/general/eqf/broch_en.pdf, p. 3

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European Union, Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy and the School Sector

• Because Lifelong Learning is not achievable without IL, therefore IL should be developed.

• If (1) there is a common European LLL area and the common EQF, and (2) IL is important and sine qua non for LLL, then (3) coherent, EU-wide, embracing all learning sectors (school, HE, adult and vocational) IL development policy is needed.

• At the moment such policy does not exist.

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European Union, Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy and the School Sector

• In addition, Information Literacy is unappreciated, its role is undervalued, and it has been frequently equated with the Digital Literacy*– For example – in the official EU document Key Competences for

Lifelong Learning – A European Framework – there is a separate part on Digital Competence, defined as “the confident and critical use of Information Society Technology (IST) for work, leisure and communication”, but not on Information Literacy.

*Basili, C. 2008. Theorems of Information Literacy. A mathematical-like approach to the discourse of Information Literacy. http://www-old.inib.uj.edu.pl/wyd_iinb/s3_z5/basili-n.pdf

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What is SCHOOL SECTOR from the EMPATIC point of view?

• According to EU EACEA Lifelong Learning Programme (Comenius programme) it is „the first phase of education, from pre-school and primary to secondary schools” http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/

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Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT

Recommendations to Policy Makers

• Some elements of IL development strategies are present in European countries and “taken-for-granted”, but clearly formulated national IL policy assumptions are required.

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Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• National IL development strategies should be flexible and built on an all-European scheme of IL standards, and those in turn should be formulated in terms of learning outcomes. Consequently there is a strong recommendation to prepare the IL standards scheme.– Detailed Information Literacy strategies are needed. However, educational

systems, information cultures, and experiences with IL development in every EU country are different, so what works in one part of Europe may not work in another. As a result it would be better to formulate European Information Literacy standards in terms of learning outcomes; these would identify a set of IL goals to be achieved in different appropriate ways and by various means within formal, informal and non-formal learning environments. In other words, the aims of IL should be the same across Europe in general, but IL development strategies need to be national in specifics.

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Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• Identification of roles for multi-dimensional cooperation of different IL stakeholders (local authorities and other local figures, parents, school authorities, students, teachers) is crucial.– It is not simple to indicate who is to be responsible for the

introduction and development of Information Literacy, but surely it could be national, central units. Generally, central bodies are appropriate to set goals but the cooperative work of all interested parties and stakeholders at local level, in local communities, is where real work is or can be achieved.

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Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• School management and teachers are the most important stakeholders in the schools sector, they must be aware of what Information Literacy is, why it is so important and how to learn/teach IL in schools.– All the changes related to Information Literacy development in

the school (formal education) learning sector should start with the involvement of teachers; they need to be convinced and trained in the IL didactics. School teachers are the basis of educational systems and send the most influential messages to their students/children in schools.

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Information Literacy in the School Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• Librarians/information professionals, who are traditionally engaged in IL-related matters everywhere, must cooperate with all other parties/stakeholders involved in the educational processes, to include: headmasters, teachers, parents, students, local authorities, and other people having important social functions in their local communities (police officers, fire-fighters, priests, etc.).

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Information Literacy in the Schools Sector – EMPATIC’s DRAFT Recommendations to Policy Makers

• Real work at the local level is the most important factor for IL development in the school sector in Europe, and as a result it has to be strongly supported by national and European law and policy makers;

• The young generation, so-called „digital natives”, do not necessarily have an „inherent” culture of information; they also must undergo education and training in the field of Information Literacy.

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What we would like you to do?

• The main purpose of the EMPATIC recommendations is to stimulate action.

• Participants of the conference are asked to examine, discuss and finalize them and also help refine a strategic plan for their dissemination and utilisation.

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What we would like you to do? A few exemplary questions

• Would you agree that IL is „a must” in the today’s Information Society and as such needs to be taught/learnt from primary school on?

• Who is to be responsible for the Information Literacy development? Do we need a central body or central goals?

• What are the main challenges in the area of IL development? • What actions related to IL should be taken within the school

learning sector?

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If you are interested

• http://empat-ic.eu/ • http://informationliteracyintheschoolsector.bl

ogspot.com/