Towards a model of critical information literacy instruction for the development of political agency

Lauren Smith

University of

Strathclyde

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Introduction

0 Context0 Critical pedagogy0 Information literacy0 Critical information literacy0 Methodology and methods0 Challenges0 Conclusions0 Anticipated outcomes

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Research ProblemInformation literacy is presented as “unproblematic, atheoretical and apolitical” (Kapitzke, 2003). It is hypothesised that gaps exist in the structure of information literacy tuition in UK secondary schools which means that information literacy focuses on skills-based technical aspects of information seeking and does not adequately address critical thinking skills which enable students to critically assess the information they encounter and the structures in which the information and knowledge is held.

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Political Attitudes of Young People

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“While young people are interested in social and political issues they do not focus their concerns on engagement with formal political systems. Many hold negative views about politics, such as feeling that they have little control over what the government does.”

(Grundy and Jamieson 2004, p.237)

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“It is not possible to assess whether young people are more disenchanted with politics than their predecessor generations.”

(White et al. 2000, p.44)

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Critical Pedagogy

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Critical pedagogy “help[s] students to develop a consciousness of freedom, recognise authoritarian tendencies, empower the imagination, connect knowledge and truth to power, and learn how to read both the word and the world as part of a broader struggle for agency, justice and democracy.”

(Giroux 2012, p.116)

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“Giroux suggests that adults have written their own dystopian values of selfish individuality, fear, greed, and cynicism onto the lives of youth and children without providing them voice or forum to imagine alternative perspectives and ways of being external to the dictates of a rapacious and homogenizing consumerism.”

(Gage 2004, p.68)

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Critical Literacy

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“The act of decoding texts, analysing the underlying power structures, and using the analysis to drive equitable change.”

(Morrell 2004)

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“The meaning of information literacy has never been fixed, despite its being the topic of numerous conferences and a considerable body of scholarly work.”

(Kapitzke 2003, p.40)

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“an effort to deny the ancillary status of librarianship by inventing a social malady with which librarians as ‘information professionals’ are uniquely qualified to deal.”

(Foster 1993, p.346)

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“LIS cast as a science has flattened libraries and information systems/ products into objective and neutral entities studied without reference to context or power.”

(Buschman 2007, p.1492)

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Libraries contribute to democratic ideals:

0 Information provision

0 Equity of access0 Education0 Independent

learners0 Intellectual freedom0 Public spaces0 Privacy

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“Information literacy practices are closely related to and complementary with those of liberatory education practices.”

(Keer 2010, p.157)

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Critical Information Literacy

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Information Literacy Critical Literacy

0 Information seeking

0Decision-making0Cognitive elements0 Identifying

information need0 Locating,

evaluating, using information

0Critical thinking skills

0Analysis and critiquing skills

0 Identifying underlying power structures

0 Acquisition of agency

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“A critical approach to information literacy development means changing the view of education as the transfer of information or “getting the right knowledge into students’ heads” to an awareness of each person’s agency and ability to make meaning within the library setting.”

(Elmborg 2006, p.194)

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Critical information literacy would aim to “reverse trends of exclusion from political participation and enable people to participate in the decisions and events that affect their lives.”

(Whitworth 2009, p.118)

Towards a Methodology

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Methodological Approach0 Mixed methods

0 Qualitative analysis

0 Narrow focus

0 In-depth

0 Critical theory will inform the collection and interpretation of data

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Questionnaire

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0 General sense of levels of political knowledge

0 Range of questions about local, national and EU politics

0 Multiple choice answers

0 Short – 20 questions

0 Identify possible trends

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Repertory Grid Interviews

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0 Elements identified0 Constructs developed0 Elements and constructs related to each other

0 Minimises researcher bias0 Better idea of participants’ political constructs

0 Quantitative analysis

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Diaries

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0 Two weeks

0 Guidelines provided

0 Able to ask questions

0 Conceptual content

0 Variety of formats

0 Led by participants

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Participants will have the option to contribute to the diary by submitting posts to private tumblr accounts.

0 Text0 Audio0 Video0 Quotes0 URLs

If they have questions they can submit these and I can respond to them.

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Focus Groups / Interviews

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0 Discussion topics based on the constructs extrapolated from repertory grid interviews and diaries

0 In-depth view of attitudes and behaviour

0 How participants communicate with each other and share information

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Research Risks

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0 Co-operation of school and staff

0 Getting students to participate and continue to contribute to all stages

0 Participant understanding of research

0 Relatively novel methods and unfamiliar topic

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Challenges

0 Limited school resources0 Teachers, librarians, learning resources, libraries

0 Education and qualification of library staff0 LIS qualifications, pedagogical theory, politics

0 Challenging the status quo0 Power, stereotypes, resistance to change

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Anticipated Outcomes

0 Application of critical theory to information literacy – firmer academic footing and engagement in social and critical theory;

0 Development of information literacy theory and understanding of the field, adding weight to the argument about value of libraries;

0 Suggestions for developments to be made to information literacy practice.

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Conclusions

0 Libraries are ideal providers of critical information literacy instruction, and must engage with the political issues surrounding pedagogy to effectively apply critical theories;

0 Critical information literacy is an approach that could be taken to further develop information literacy theory and practice;

0 Engagement with substantive professional issues is of benefit to LIS, learners and wider society.

ContactLauren Smithlauren.n.smith@strath.ac.uklaurensmith.wordpress.com@walkyouhome

Computer and

Information Sciences

University of Strathclyde

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References0 Buschman, J. 2007. Democratic theory in library and information science: toward an emendation. Journal of

the American Society for Information Science and Technology 58(10), pp. 1483-1496.0 Elmborg, J. 2006. Critical Information Literacy: Implications for Instructional Practice. The Journal of

Academic Librarianship, 32(2), pp. 192-199.0 Foster, S. 1993. Information literacy: some misgivings. American Libraries 24(4), pp. 344-346.0 Gage, R.A. 2004. Henry Giroux’s “Abandoned Generation” & Critical Librarianship. Progressive Librarian,

23(Spring 2004). pp. 64–74.0 Giroux, H. 2012. Education and the Crisis of Public Values. New York: Peter Lang.0 Grundy, S. and Jamieson, L. 2004. Action, Reaction, Inaction? Young Adults’ Citizenship in Britain. Sociológia

36, pp. 237-245.0 Kapitzke, C. 2003. (In)formation literacy: A positivist epistemology and a politics of (out)formation.

Educational Theory 53(1), pp.37-53.0 Keer, G. 2010. Critical Pedagogy and Information Literacy in Community Colleges. In Accardi, M.T. et al. eds.

Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods. Duluth, MN: Library Juice Press. pp. 149-59.0 Morrell, E. 2004. Becoming critical researchers: Literacy and empowerment for urban youth. New York: Peter

Lang.0 White, C., Bruce, S. and Ritchie, J. 2000. Young Peoples’ Politics. Political Interest and Engagement amongst 14-

24 Year Olds. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.0 Whitworth, A., 2009. Teaching in the relational frame: the Media and Information Literacy course at

Manchester. Journal of Information Literacy [Online] 3(2), pp. 25–38. Available at: http://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL/article/view/PRA-V3-I2-2009-2 [Accessed 28 February 2013].

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