International Association of School Librarianship Conference Proceedings
Not a member yet
980 research outputs found
Sort by
Serving the child: A human rights approach to literacy and learning
No full textSchool libraries have an excellent position to contribute to the development of skills of children, young people and teachers and educational staff to access sources for information and learning. Even if resources are limited, an active school librarian is an indispensable link between different parts of the whole school community. Therefore they need to work on their own literacy development. Applying human rights of children in the educational context of today means to respect their right to information, to have access to materials, to education, to values as human beings, as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Rights of equal access to literacy services and social inclusion must also be applied in hybrid library environments. New tools in school library services developed in the Netherlands, include digital school library services, a reading and information literacy curriculum and promoting programmes. They help (young) people to participate in society and take responsibility for their own (learning) lives. IASL could partner with other international organisations and institutions, which work for equal rights and basic skills and services for children and young people
Storytelling and Sustained Silent Reading in Foreign Language Acquisition: Evidence from Taiwan
No full textEnglish education in Taiwan has been an issue for many years and the search for the core of the problem is still ongoing. What has been missing in our English education? This paper attempts to deal with several interrelated issues which are believed to be of vital importance when discussing the problem of our English education and when trying to determine ways of improving it: (1) storytelling as an indispensable first step; (2) storytelling as the bridge to independent reading; (3) extensive reading as the most enjoyable and effective means for continuing language acquisition, (4) extensive reading in the form of in-class sustained silent reading as the most important factor for developing one’s academic language as well as writing ability. Finally, (5) I intend to hypothesize, with the support of research and theory, that there is a developmental path for foreign language acquisition which corresponds very well with first language development
Evergreen Library Penetrating into Classroom Teaching: Applying and Expanding – Take Tianzhu No.1 High School in Northwest China as a Sample
No full textThis paper provides a study of the school library programs sponsored by the Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) and identifies the vital role of school libraries in improving students’ information quality. Based on analyzes Strategies for building literacy skills in the library of Tianzhu No.1 High School, the study confirmed the program developed reading and literacy skills among students. As EEF programs continue to expand into other locations in China, it is the authors’ hope that this study may provide useful information and analysis based upon which decisions about future programs can be made. It is also their hope that this study provides impetus for more studies on the rural library programs in other areas of China or programs in other underdeveloped regions of the world
Students’ Satisfaction with the Library, Familial Reading Environments, and Reading Attitudes in Structural Equation Modeling Analyses
No full textThe main purpose of this study was to test the fit of model of the relationships among students’ satisfaction with the library, familial reading environments and whose reading attitudes. Further, it tried to find out whether the familial reading environments and satisfaction with the library affect the students’ reading attitudes, and then explored the direct, indirect and total effects between the students’ satisfaction with the library, familial reading environments, and reading attitudes.
The participants of this study included 714 high school students (356 male, 358 female), and the findings suggested that (1) the theoretical model of students’ satisfactions with the library, familial reading environments, and reading attitudes using Structural Equation Modeling was supported; (2) students’ satisfactions with the library were in connection with their familial reading environments; (3) students’ satisfactions of library and familial reading environments had a significantly positive effect on students’ reading attitudes
The important role of information literacy and learning in the development of lifelong learners: How well prepared are our teachers and students?
No full textThere have recently been increasing numbers of published articles lamenting school students’ lack of information literacy skills. All strongly state the urgent need for improvement. The problem may arise from classroom teachers’ lack of knowledge of information literacy skills and their related pedagogical practice but there is little research. This presentation reports on a project, involving a cluster of New Zealand schools, which investigated both teacher’s and students’ understanding of information literacy and classroom practices. The results have established the need for better teacher understanding and practice. One solution will be to trial appropriate professional development
During the last thirty years the rapid development of technology has left many educators struggling to come to terms with the changes the integration of technology brings to the teaching-learning environment. Governments and education administrators aroun
No full textDuring the last thirty years the rapid development of technology has left many educators struggling to come to terms with the changes the integration of technology brings to the teaching-learning environment. Governments and education administrators around the world are currently diverting limited resources into the provision of infrastructure and computers in the belief that the use of technology as a means of education delivery has the potential to significantly enhance teaching strategies and resources currently available to schools. For schools and teachers, the push for the implementation of technology from the administrative levels has meant changes to the learning environment, the necessity to acquire new skills and issues of accountability. Thus the impact of technology in education and on learning has been the subject of much debate and an increasing body of research has endeavoured to assess the impact of various technologies on student learning, with mixed results. The purpose of this article is to briefly review the research on the impact of technology in education, determine some of the recurrent issues identified by the research and to examine the role of the teacher librarian as a possible facilitator for change and the effective integration of technology in the curriculum
Factors Hindering High School Library Success as Viewed by Librarians, Teachers and Principals in Israel
No full textThe paper presents findings of a wide-scale national study of which one objective was to identify main obstacles hindering high school librarians from successfully carrying out their tasks. Similar detailed questionnaires were mailed to librarians, teachers and principals in a cluster sample of 234 schools (one-third of target population), rendering 137 usable questionnaires (58.5%). The three groups rated quite similarly the obstacles. First and foremost were the scarcities of resources and manpower. Third was inadequate professional training, which was found to include: inadequate training in information technology and in librarianship, scarce skills in management, communication and public relations, as well as lack of training in instruction and lack of familiarity with curriculum and its development. Fourth was the principal\u27s and teaching staff\u27s lack of awareness and recognition of library importance, also acknowledged by principals and teachers. Additional obstacles mentioned were poor physical conditions, discipline problems and the character of the librarian and staff. Recommendations include: promoting understanding of school library and librarian roles by writing Israeli Information Power and by offering courses to principals and teachers on school library\u27s roles, adding personnel positions in school libraries and emphasizing technological topics in library education programs
Introducing the Information Literacy Model “Empowering 8” in South Asia with special reference to India and Sri Lanka
No full textInformation literacy (IL) is the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address an issue or a problem. It is a basic human right to lifelong learning. Information itself is becoming a transforming strategic resource of the emerging information society. Without information literacy, the information society will not be able to achieve its full potential. Therefore, the concept and practice of information literacy must be promoted from an early age among the school going children. Information literacy is more relevant for the developing nations to enable themselves to bridge the growing info-divide between the developed and the developing nations. In this context, a regional workshop was held at the University of Colombo to create awareness of information skills for learning among the participants from South and Southeast Asian countries
The Introduction of School Library Coordinators to Assist Teacher Librarians: A Grass-roots Challenge for Local Government in Japan
No full textThis paper discusses the role of the School Library Coordinator, a post created by Kawasaki City, Japan local government, in accordance with the legislated introduction of teacher librarians into all Japanese schools. It is difficult for teacher librarians to play the roles of both teacher and librarian simultaneously. They are expected to play the central role in school libraries, to support pupils’ spontaneous learning activities as well as to foster pupils’ imaginative minds.Teacher librarians are also expected to coordinate schools, families and communities to promote pupils’ reading activity by the Basic Plan to Promote Children’s Reading Activity. Kawasaki City local government introduced School Library Coordinators to assist teacher librarians and to complement their onerous duties in schools and society. Although this paper’s research and analysis indicates that Kawasaki City’s innovation of School Library Coordinators has been successful, it is noted that there is potential for more efficient performance by library coordinators in collaboration with teacher librarians
Helping Struggling Readers Comprehend Information Texts
No full textThis experimental study examined the effect of an instructional intervention that combined the use of information texts and instruction in reading strategies to improve the reading comprehension of struggling grade 5 students. Elementary (primary) school children are infrequently instructed in strategies for reading informational text, with its genre specific text structure although this is an essential component of information literacy. Two grade 5 classes were pre- and post- tested for reading comprehension. One class received instruction in collaborative strategy instruction for reading informational text. The post-test revealed that students in the experimental class achieved significantly better comprehension scores than the control class. This study examined the effect of an instructional intervention that combined the use of information texts and instruction in reading strategies to improve the comprehension of struggling fifth grade readers