The Australian Library Journal

Information literacy at the primary school level?

Manuscript received June 2002

This is a refereed article

Introduction

One motivating factor in this study was the fact that much of the library science and educational academic literature suggests that all young people need to be taught information literacy skills as part of their general school education in order to ensure that as adults they will be prepared for life as contributing citizens in the communities of the future. Other studies, published and currently being researched, address information literacy in university students (Bruce 1997; Willis: research in progress): this study aims to see if primary school students have assimilated the foundations required for information literacy and whether they are able to use these skills effectively.

In order to define the concept, clarification of what is meant by the term was sought. Much of the reviewed literature contained definitions comparable in content to that in the ACT Department of Education and Training and Children's, Youth & Family Services Bureau publication Information Access Curriculum Support Paper: 'Information literacy is the ability to locate, use, organise, present and evaluate information effectively and efficiently for a given purpose or need' (1997: 11). Information literacy is now an essential skill for school and academic life as well as for life-long learning. It is also reported as being a matter of continuing concern for governments and employers; countries competing in the global economy will require citizens with sound information literacy. It is seen as a source of power both for the individual and for the nation (Lupton in Booker 1993). Further readings suggest the need for curriculum documents to identify the necessary competencies that support the learning of information literacy (Gapper & Styles in Booker 1993).

This case study examines how a cohort of primary school children utilise specific information processes as outlined in the ACT's Information Access Curriculum Support Paper. Two of the process steps were examined: locating and selecting. This was done by establishing whether or not the supporting learning objectives could be identified. Results for this study were obtained with the aid of several data collection methods: concept mapping, questionnaires and interviews. It is anticipated that the results will confirm the desirability of information literacy skills in schools as an important goal for teachers and teacher librarians; and that these skills are actually being assimilated and used by school children.

Background

Since then, much has been written regarding the positive gains to both the individual and the global community: it is even suggested that having a basic understanding of the processes and skills involved will be vital for survival in the information age (Spitzer, Eisenberg & Lowe 1998). Australian governments have been committed to improving the nation's levels of information literacy which has had a corresponding impact on the role schools have in the teaching of these processes and skills (Hazell in Booker 1993).

This is reflected in what teachers and teacher librarians are expected to teach for the global citizens of tomorrow to function effectively in the information age. Curricula and curriculum documents are being designed to ensure that the skills needed to operate as an information-literate individual are being taught (Bruce 1997; Capra & Ryan 1999). In the ACT school involved in this research project, an information process program is incorporated into the school's information literacy curriculum.

The information process program consists of six phases, 'broadly defined as a series of interacting and cyclical steps' (Moloney 2001: 23). They include defining, locating, selecting, organising, presenting and assessing. Each requires that students learn a range of information skills and a number of objectives are listed that can help identify when a student has achieved the outcomes (ACT Department of Education & Training and Children's, Youth & Family Services Bureau 1997; Capra & Ryan 1999).

The use of such programs has prompted the development of curriculum and lesson planning documents, such as the Information Literacy Planning Overview (ILPO) by Capra & Ryan (1999), which can be used in the classroom as a means of assessing achievements in information literacy. In this study the government publication and the overview were applied to establish questions used during the research: both were then used to assess whether the students were achieving the competencies.

Purpose and design of the study

The intention was to explore how well primary school children are assimilating the information process skills of locating and selecting. The government primary school class of Year 4/5 students chosen for this study take part in a weekly literacy and numeracy focussed rotation, which includes a 45-minute research lesson in the school library. During the time of this case study, outcomes for the skills of locating and selecting were being assessed. The class research assignment was handed out; students were grouped into pairs; each pair chose a topic; and then proceeded with their research, working through the six steps of the information process. The design of this project was such that students were able to be observed going about their normal routine while researching a class assignment.

Methodology

In order to gather information about whether the primary school students were assimilating and consequently practising information process skills, a number of data collection methods were used within the overall exploratory case study approach. This allowed for the questioning of students as a group and individually through brainstorming, concept mapping and questionnaires; it also enabled direct observations of student behaviour, and allowed me the opportunity to develop answers to the research question: How well does a class of Year 4/5 primary school students demonstrate the information process skills of locating and selecting?

Participants

The school has an active interest in information literacy and was very willing to volunteer a class and one of Year 4/5 students was randomly selected. It consisted of thirty students with an age range of nine to eleven years, twenty-seven of whom were available to participate in the concept mapping exercise. Five pairs of teacher-arranged students were then randomly selected from the class list for direct observation. The pairs were considered to represent a random sample of the whole class, displaying individually a range of ages and abilities. Twenty-seven students were available to answer the written questionnaire.

Data collection

The methods used in this research consisted of brainstorming and concept mapping, observations, and questionnaires in order to gather more comprehensive information about the students' prior understandings and subsequent behaviour and actions. Initially a brainstorming and concept map exercise allowed the whole class to respond to two questions: what did they think the words locating and selecting meant? During subsequent library sessions five randomly chosen pairs of students were observed in order to establish what behaviours these students exhibited in the skills of locating and selecting information for their class assignment. Then, each student of the twenty-seven was given a simple five-point questionnaire.

Data analysis

Initially, I wanted to see whether the students, through the brainstorming activity, had a conceptual understanding of the skills of locating and selecting. The observation was to see whether the students actually put into practice any of the conceptual understandings shown during the brainstorming activity - were they able to show that they have assimilated the information process skills and put them into the act of locating and selecting information in order to answer a research question? Finally, the questionnaire was designed to extend the comparison of the students' answers with the competencies identified in the curriculum material for the skills of locating and selecting information and to aid in triangulation of the evidence.

Findings

Brainstorming and concept map

In answer to the question 'When I am talking about information process skills what do you think of when I say the word locating?' several students contributed answers that were consistent with showing a general understanding of the information process skill of locating. The following lists the answers given:

• maps
• television
• books
• internet
• libraries
• studying it (that is, the topic)
• ask people
• the globe (meaning a 3-D world globe)
• researching
• the World Book (meaning encyclopedias)
• education CD-ROMS, and
• defining.

Similarly, in answer to the question 'When I am talking about information process skills what do you think of when I say the word selecting?' the answers showed consistency with having an understanding of the concept of the information process skill of selecting:

• asking yourself questions that you need
• looking
• writing
• watching
• finding
• reading
• listening
• shortening down (meaning to chose keywords to help in researching)
• deciding
• defining (meaning narrowing)
• listing
• picking, and
• choosing.

These answers clearly showed that the students have quite a good understanding of the theoretical concepts of the terms locating and selecting when applied to the information process. The answers were consistent with outcomes suggested in the literature. But did they put these ideas into practice?

Observations

Direct observations took place during the class library session. During these 45-minute sessions, students teamed up with their partners, then went off in search of appropriate material. Observations were conducted with five pairs of students. The class teacher had already decided on the make-up of the pairs, and then the pairs were chosen randomly from the teacher's class list. Of the fifteen pairs, every third pair was chosen. Each pair was observed for five minutes each (twenty minutes total for each pair). Each pair was to be observed in order to record the behaviours shown during the tasks of locating and selecting information. However, each of the five pairs had grown so comfortable with my presence that they chose to talk to me about some of their decisions regarding their information choices. This may be problematic with taking observational notes and it was not anticipated for this research; however these chance interactions revealed some of the causes for the observed behaviour. Such interactions forced the observer-as-participant concept to impact on my role as observer (Gorman & Clayton 1998). I feel, however, that positive gains were made in regards to the outcomes of the observations.

Initially library sessions consisted of the students:

• locating an information source;
• skimming through it to see if they could read it;
• ensuring that there was information that might answer their research question;
• recording selected information in keyword notes in answer to their specific questions;
• then moving on to find another information source.

During this process all students were observed to be checking the front cover either for relevant pictures for the topic, or the research topic name within the title, skimming through the book and scanning the index. Some pairs were also observed to be reading from sources out loud in order to see if both individuals agreed that there was appropriate information contained in the sentence. Others were noted silently skimming through the text in order to judge relevancy. The skills exhibited by all groups during the first two sessions showed clearly the competencies for the locating skill that are outlined in the literature. Eventually, all five groups seemed to come to the realisation that their initial information source might not have enough information and that as they looked through others some had more suitable information. In fact, the students were exhibiting some of the competencies noted in the literature for the information process skill of selecting.

During further sessions, students were beginning to express dissatisfaction with some sources of information and chose to broaden their search even further. This meant, in some cases, going to the reference shelves and choosing appropriate encyclopedias. In other cases, students chose to use the internet and typed in search terms such as 'gold Australia formation' and 'lead', depending on their research topic. In all cases, once the initial source of information had been exhausted, the five observed groups approached either the teacher librarian or the class teacher for guidance as to the next step to take. All these skills show correlations to the outcomes listed in the literature. In all observed sessions, students often displayed skills from both the locating and selecting outcomes more or less simultaneously.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed to gain a more complete understanding of what individual students understood about the terms locating and selecting. The answers provided evidence of competencies in keeping with both the curriculum support paper and the ILPO document. Twenty-seven students replied and generally, the answers showed the development of competencies associated with the information process skills of locating and selecting appropriate to the year level.

Where in the library did you look first for information for your assignment?

A significant section of the group (eleven) chose to look first in the non-fiction section of the library for their initial source of information. The other favoured place to look was in the pre-selected range of material (twelve). A further three students chose the reference section, while only one student chose to look in an encyclopedia before other sources. These replies confirmed that the students were able to identify and locate possible sources of information including reference materials.

Did you need to ask for help to find information for your assignment - if so whom?

The overwhelming answer to this question was 'yes' (twenty). A very small number did not need to ask for help, and one person asked a peer for help. In all of the cases of students that asked for help, this help was requested directly of the teacher librarian. Three of these students also asked the class teacher for help. This suggests that most of the students are still developing their locating and selecting strategies and realise the need to ask for help when they have exhausted their own resources.

What sources of information did you decide to use?

Once again the majority of students replied that they had chosen to use non-fiction books and/or reference books as their major information source (twenty). Only one student chose to use the internet as their major information source, while six students felt that both sources provided the information they needed. This confirms that the students are beginning to apply the skill of recognising the relative worth of an information source in order to select the best source of information for their particular use. This in turn shows that the students are developing an awareness of the merit of exploring different sources of information.

Why did you choose this information source?

Generally the students answered this question with a relative degree of reflection (twenty-two comprehensible replies). Most answers included descriptive reasons for choosing an information source such as 'interesting' (four), 'answered most questions' (four), 'easy to use' (five), 'not complicated' (one), 'easy to read' (three) and 'had more information' (three). Such replies clearly highlighted the development of information literacy competencies such as the ability to skim through an information source in order to judge its suitability as well as being able to compare information from different sources. However, it is interesting to note that two students replied with disquieting statements regarding the use of the internet, such as 'can't rely on the internet' (one) and 'can't make internet work' (one). That the important skill, using the internet, seems to have caused some difficulties, suggests the need for further investigation.

How many different sources of information did you end up using?

The answers to this question suggested that most students realised the worth of looking beyond one source of information. The majority of the student choices ranged from using one book (five), two books (eight), three books (five), the internet (six), more than three books (four), using prior knowledge (one), using other people (two). The replies show that most students chose to use more than one source of information (twenty). This indicates that most students were developing competencies such as; assessing the usefulness of an information source, choosing other sources if the first source does not provide all necessary answers; and summoning up prior knowledge.

Conclusion and implications

I wanted to determine whether, as much of the academic literature suggests, primary school students were learning to be information literate and to see if primary school students were assimilating and applying information process skills, specifically those skills related to the steps of locating and selecting. During the course of this study, I was able to gather information from the students regarding both their conceptual understandings of the terms locating and selecting as well as their practical employment of the associated skills. The conceptual understandings discussed suggest that most of the class members had a basic understanding of what it means to locate and to select sources of information that will help them to answer their research question. Many of the actions noted provided further evidence that at least a small percentage of the overall group were putting thoughts into action. The written questionnaire highlighted further that most students had a basic information literacy skill level. Many of the answers and observed actions reflected learning objectives stated in both the government curriculum support paper and the ILPO document, which confirms that at least some of the students are effectively practising the information skills of locating and selecting.

Further research

It would be interesting to discover whether the students, either individually or in different situations can practise comparable skills. As this was an isolated investigation, it was difficult to ascertain whether each student in the observed class can apply the learnt information skills to all other situations. This suggests scope for further investigations into how primary school students are developing their information literacy capabilities in a broader study. Also of interest is the lack of confidence that two of the students had in the internet; this might also be worthy of further investigation.

References

Australian Capital Territory Department of Education & Training and Children's Youth & Family Services Bureau (1997) Information access curriculum support paper: incorporating information literacy and information technology Canberra: ACT Department of Education & Training and Children's Youth & Family Services Bureau.

Australian School Library Association , Australian Library and Information Association (2001) Learning for the future: developing information services in schools: 2nd ed Carlton South VIC: Curriculum Corporation

Booker, D (ed.) (1993) Information literacy: the Australian agenda: proceedings of a conference conducted by the University of South Australia Library held at Adelaide College of TAFE 2-4 December 1992 Adelaide: University of South Australia Library.

Bruce, C (1997) The seven faces of information literacy Blackwood, South Australia: Auslib.

Capra, S & Ryan, J (1999) ILPO - Information Literacy Planning Overview P/K - 7 Revised Edition Queensland: CRA Publishing.

Gorman, G E & Clayton, P (1997) Qualitative research for the information professional: a practical handbook London: Library Association Publishing. Moloney, K (2001) 'Information Literacy: Towards Lifelong Learning' Access 15 [2] May 2001.

Spitzer, K L, Eisenberg, M B & Lowe, C A (1998) Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age Syracuse, New York: Eric Clearinghouse on Information and Technology.

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Biographical information

Tracy Foggett is a mature student who, ['...with the assistance of a very supportive family...'] has recently graduated from the University of Canberra [B Ed] and an M.Lim. She currently works as a teacher-librarian in a small government primary school.The more formal contact with children in a school setting has prompted her to consider other research interests such as children's educational development; as well as further research into how children acquire the skills that are necessary to become information literate. Tracy can be contacted by e-mail at foggett@bigpond.com.