SCHOOLS LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION LITERACY - REPORT BY PEOPLE FOR EDUCATION (2)

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There is a widespread movement – in politics, business and education – to shift the emphasis in education from the industrial/manufacturing skills needed in the 20th century, to the so-called “knowledge” skills or competencies needed for success in the 21st century.3 There are varying definitions of these so-called “21st century skills.” Some suggest adding the 4C’s of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity to the 3Rs;4 others focus more on technological skills. But the common core element of this new movement is a focus on developing students’ capacity to find, evaluate, organize and transform all the information now available in the staggeringly large, unfiltered

and collaborative digital universe. These skills fall under the term “information literacy.”

In 2005, People for Education and Queen’s University conducted a joint study on school libraries and their relationship to student achievement. Data from Grade 3 and 6 EQAO Literacy tests were correlated on a school-by-school basis to examine whether a link existed between higher student achievement and school library conditions.

Results from the data analysis showed that:

 • the presence of trained library staff is associated with a higher proportion of grade 6 students attaining level 3 (the provincial standard) on reading tests;

 • schools without professional library staffing tend to have lower achievement on the grade 3 reading tests (both in terms of average achievement and attaining level 3);

and

 • the presence of teacher-librarians is associated with more positive attitudes towards reading in both grade 3 and grade 6 students.

[...]

In 2009, the Ministry of Education funded the OSLA (Ontario School Library Association) to write Together for Learning, which provides a blueprint for the development of a “learning commons” in every school. These hubs would be based in school libraries and provide centres for information literacy,technology and collaborative learning. Although the Ministry funded the document, it has not released it as a curriculum support.

Vale a pena estarmos informados e conscientes da situação das bibliotecas escolares em alguns países, conhecermos o seu inquestionável papel na promoção do sucesso escolar e nas competências leitoras para estarmos preparados para os 'ataques' e sabermos como devemos reforçar as redes que advogam a qualidade do ensino indissociado da existência de boas bibliotecas escolares com professores bibliotecários qualificados e competentes.

People for Education