The Scottish Information Literacy Project:working with partners to create an information literate Scotland

Project Overview and Update

Dr John Crawford

Project Open Meeting 2009Glasgow Caledonian University 16th September 2009

Where it all began

Drumchapel Project 2003 An exploratory project – initially ICT skills orientated Community ICT facilities little used - Library and Cybercafés –

implications only now being addressed School and School Library are main focus for IT use in

deprived areas Little integration of information literacy into the curriculum Levels of ICT ‘deprivation’ did not seem to be high Basic IT skills exist- WP, email, Internet Pupil evaluation of websites poor An asylum seeking issue An information literacy skills/transitional agenda emerged

Project objectives• to develop an information literacy framework, linking

primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas

• Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and the wider community

• Working with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide

• Researching and promoting information literacy in the workplace

• Identifying and working with partners, both in education and the wider community

• Researching the role of information literacy in continuing professional development

• Researching the health and media literacies agenda

Agenda issues• a need to explain and promote the concept of information

literacy to educational and other bodies - advocacy focus. Included a petition to the Scottish Parliament 2005

• Recruited leading information literacy advocates in Scotland as Project partners. (Initially secondary HE/FE) partnership focus

• the workplace (studies of GCU students/alumni) - a workplace focus

• Adult literacies contacts – an employability focus • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a CPD focus• An independent learning skill - lifelong learning focus• A major skills agenda but see below

Agenda of issues 2004 -2007-8

• 2003 – The Drumchapel Project – where it all began• 2004 – The ‘one year’ Information Literacy, the Link between

Secondary and Tertiary Education Project launched • 2005-8 - the first draft of the National Information Literacy

Framework Scotland completed, piloted and evaluated• Contact and work with Learning and Teaching Scotland and

learndirectscotland• Extensive network of partners and contacts from school,

FE/HE, workplace, lifelong learning, Adult literacies + overseas• Website developed and more recently blog + PR activities• Initial health and media literacy contacts

What we want to do next (which is what I said last year)

• Expand the Framework to extend the lifelong learning/community engagement component using the data from the workplace/Adult Literacies study currently completing

• Investigate the development of information skills training modules which could be delivered via public libraries, workplace training and Adult Literacies programmes

• Review and develop our existing workplace information literacy skills expertise with chambers of commerce, Adult Literacies partners, etc

• Have more time to publicise and promote our work to the sectors which we are targeting and to disseminate and develop strategic collaborations and partnerships on a national and international basis.

• To develop further strands in media and health literacies • Get information literacy incorporated into Scotland's’ lifelong learning

policy

2008 -2009 Focus(Esmee Fairbairn Foundation funding)

• Restructure the Framework to make it easier to use / more interactive

+ extend the early years, workplace, wider access and lifelong learning components to make it a genuine lifelong learning policy documents

• Research and progress the information literacy in the workplace agenda

Information literacy in the workplace progress - some outcomes (1)

• Glasgow Chamber of Commerce – couple of meetings. Agreed to progress by sending out a questionnaire devised by us to all Glasgow Chamber of Commerce members about their information skills training needs.

• CBI Scotland – one meeting to identify companies who might want to incorporate IL training into their CPD programmes – no subsequent developments

• Scottish Trades Union Congress – presentation to Everyday Skills Committee of STUC (composed of TU learning representatives) – well received – continuing contact but funding the issue

• Skills Development Scotland (Careers Division – old Careers Scotland) – meetings led to identification of IL as a career choice, progression, CPD and employability skill. Joint symposium with SDS 27th March

• Employability and Skills Division, Lifelong Learning Directorate – meeting which validated our strategy of targeting employers’ and skills organisation

Information literacy in the workplace progress - some outcomes (2)

(and contacts) • Public library services – contacts with three services including Inverclyde Libraries

who have run employability training courses (10 weeks). IL has been incorporated in the courses at our suggestion. (Basic skills courses run by public libraries have IT/Internet training from which IL training can be developed)

• Aberdeen Business School – secured £400,000 + EU funding to run ‘bite sized courses’ for local SMEs (up to 12 modules). 20 businesses and 70 learners so far – hope for 175. Exchanged information and role of IL – employers’ don’t know what training they need (RGU finding)

• Royal Society of Arts - Opening Minds Curriculum running in 200 schools in England – includes an IL component – Managing information – also strong focus on skills acquisition in education and the workplace

• Scottish Government Information Service – have set up advanced Internet searching skills courses for staff; developed an information strategy for the Scottish Government. Now on Scottish Government website – Education and Training (Information Literacies) – a first? http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

Skills utilisation ?A workplace issue

• 'Skills utilisation is about ensuring the most effective application of skills in the workplace to maximise performance through the interplay of a number of key agents (e.g. employers, employees, learning providers and the state) and the use of a range of HR, management and working practices. Effective skills utilisation seeks to match the use of skills to business demands/needs.' (p.2)

• Skills utilisation literature review, a report by CFE for the Education Analytical Services, Lifelong Learning Research, Scottish Government (Executive summary and full text available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/12/15114643/0)

And more recently

• Information literacy case studies/exemplars of good practice in secondary schools completed http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/informationliteracy

• Funding obtained from Learning and Teaching Scotland to develop learning materials and CPD materials for teachers aimed at Primaries 1-3 (5-7) – See Digital Britain report (2009), p.64

• Study on the workplace and its consequences

• Joint Open Space event with Skills Development Scotland• Post Open Space meeting

• Internal focus

Putting definitions into practice

"Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner." CILIP (2004) Information Literacy Definition

“Information Literacy was defined as the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address an issue or problem.” Prague Declaration

What we have learned (1)• Different groups of people constantly reinterpret IL in the

light of their own qualifications, training, experience and needs

• IL is a key career choice, progression, CPD, employability and workplace skill

• IL is not recognised in any government document produced since 2005 which recognises IL as an independent skill. It is rolled up with IT –But see Scottish Government website – Education and Training (Information Literacies)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/progress/sg/supportingindividuals/InformationLiteracies/Q/forceupdate/on

What we have learned (2)• Target skills and employers’/employee organisations

• IL skills training in the workplace is feasible but must be carefully planned and targeted

• The public library can offer IL training, developed from IT training but again it but must be carefully planned and targeted. Public librarians must be involved in IL skills development

• Need to think cross sectorally - Govan High School’s ‘Future Skills’ framework of about 70 skills in association with local employers and involving the pupils. Includes IL. Blane (2008)

• Findings of workplace study have been validated

Inverclyde Employability coursePreliminary findings

• Most participants women – and few young people (NEETs / More Choices More Chances?)

• Interviewees mainly from a service industry background• Family and friends main motivation• Difficult to separate vocational from personal development motivation• Issues around recruitment• Health issues• Information literacy an important course component 30- 60%• Sensitive tutoring essential• Main impact – greatly increased self confidence and improvement in IT/IL

skills• Very difficult to disentangle employability and recreational usage of

information literacy

Open Space event (SDS)and June 15th meeting

• About 35 people attended including representatives from secondary and FE/HE education, adult learning, local government, the STUC, Learning and Teaching Scotland, BBC Scotland, a number of commercial agencies and Skills Development Scotland staff. There were also a number of librarians

• Consistency and info. Literacy skills to be embedded in all curriculum subjects. (10) • An element in teacher training (young people) inputs (8) 　 • Shift focus to individual learners and their successes in developing their own

information lit. skills and publicise their rewards in doing so. (7)

• June 15th meeting• Lesley Thomson and Jenny Foreman from the Scottish Government

agreed to set up an online community of practice to facilitate further discussion and action

Issues for the future

• Funding – a continuing issue• Content development – a major issue• The Framework – a continuing saga• Development of online community of practice • IL Training for trainee teachers • Continue to influence the Curriculum for Excellence• Progress media and health agendas • Supporting an internal focus

Some further information • Crawford, John and Irving (2008) Going beyond the ‘library’: the current work of the Scottish

Information Literacy Project. Library and information research, (32) 102, pp. 29-37 http://www.lirg.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/view/89

• Crawford, John and Irving (2009) Information literacy in the workplace: a qualitative exploratory study, JOLIS, (41 )pp. 29-38 http://lis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/29?etoc

• McDonald, Natalie and Keenan, Peter (2009) The ‘stuff beyond Google: information literacy in a corporate setting . http://www.information-online.com.au/sb_clients/iog/bin/iog_programme_you_may_be_right_C1.cfm?vm_key=8EDF7462-D5A6-FFAA-AB89D511D74817DA

• Crawford, John et al, (2008) Use of information in the Scottish Government, Library & information update, Dec., pp. 48-49

• Interview with Philip Pothen, formerly of JISC, 28.11.08 about the work of the Project http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/02/podcast71johncrawfordchristineirving.aspx

Contact details Dr. John Crawford, Christine IrvingLibrary Research Officer, Researcher / Project OfficerMilton Street Building Milton Street BuildingMS004, (ground floor) MS005, (ground floor)Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University Cowcaddens Road Cowcaddens RoadGlasgow, G4 0BA Glasgow, G4 0BATel: 0141-273 -1248 Tel: 0141-273 -1249

Email jcr@gcal.ac.uk Email christine.irving@gcal.ac.uk

Project website www.caledonian.ac.uk/ils/Project blog http://caledonianblogs.net/information-

literacy/

Questions?