Home > Publications > IASL: School Libraries Worldwide - January 2002

Volume 8, Number 1, January 2002

Theme: The Multiple Dimensions of Principal Involvement

An Evaluation of the Use of the PLUS Model to Develop Pupils' Information Skills in a Secondary School
James E Herring, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, Scotland
Anne-Marie Tarter, Ripon Grammar School, Ripon, England
Simon Naylor, Ripon Grammar School, Ripon, England
Abstract
Various models of information skills have been developed and applied in schools in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom in recent years, but there have been few attempts to evaluate the application of the models. This paper reports a study of the evaluation of the use of the PLUS model in a secondary school in England. The PLUS model (Herring 1996, Herring 1999) categorises information skills into four interrelated steps: Purpose, Location, Use and Self-Evaluation. In this study, the PLUS model was used by 112 Year 7 pupils (11-12 year olds) studying physics. Each pupil completed a questionnaire relating to aspects of information skills and the use of the PLUS model. The views of the school librarian and the physics teacher were gained via semi-structured interviews. The main findings of the study were: pupils benefited from using a structured approach to project work; pupils saw the model as a useful tool particularly in helping them to plan, organise and reflect on their own work; and pupils of this age were very able to reflect on both the content and processes of learning.

MBTI® Personality Preferences and Diverse Online Learning Experiences
Anne L. Russell, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to explore students’ experiences of asynchronous interactions with other students and with their instructor during an online study module. The module, part of a university course in teacher-librarianship, was designed to assist these students to understand how knowledge of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® could be used to promote positive partnerships. The case study comprised data from two classes of students (70 students total) who took this module as part of their post-graduate course in teacher-librarianship in 1999 and 2000. The data from student feedback at the end of the module were analysed in terms of how different MBTI personality preferences experience an online learning community. Students were found to be operating in two different environments, and each environment gave rise to a different identity: (1) community interactive, and (2) independent. Within each environment, students with different personalities reported different experiences. Implications for understanding how students with different personalities address their online learning environment and suggestions for future research are addressed.

THEME SECTION

Theme: The Multiple Dimensions of Principal Involvement
Theme Editor: Gary Hartzell, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA

The Role of the Principal in the Evaluation of the School's Library Media Specialist
Miles Bryant, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Abstract
As many library media specialists in the USA know, the manner in which administrators evaluate their work seldom covers the many facets of work in today's school media center. Many factors combine to compromise the utility of the evaluation of library media specialists by the school administrator. Paramount among these factors are: 1) increased demands on the school principal as the instrument of accountability; 2) the tendency to use an evaluation model designed for teachers, not library media specialists; and 3) the dramatic changes that have occurred in the work of the library media specialist. This author analyzes briefly each of these influences and makes recommendations relative to how the evaluation of the school's library media specialist should be altered to provide a more effective means of helping achieve "information literacy", one of the 21st century's goals in the education of American children.

An International Study on Principal Influence and Information Services in Schools: Synergy in Themes and Methods
James Henri, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
Lyn Hay, Charles Sturt University, Australia
Dianne Oberg, University of Alberta, Canada
Abstract
Support of the principal is a key factor in the implementation of effective programs in schools. An international study of the principal's role in developing and supporting school library programs was conducted in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Scotland, and South Korea. The purpose of the study was to provide information, for principals and teacher-librarians in countries throughout the world, that might inform their efforts to develop information literate school communities. Principals and teacher-librarians completed three survey instruments: (1) participant demographics; (2) the participants’ perceptions and beliefs about the principals’ current and future roles; and (3) the participants’ views on such concerns as the strengths and challenges of the school library, the contributions of teacher-librarians to teaching and learning, the nature of information literacy, and barriers to integration of information skills. The overall findings of the research project included the following: (1) principals and teacher-librarians differed in age and gender; (2) beliefs of principals and teacher-librarians about the role of the principal were well-aligned except where librarians were not also qualified teachers; (3) principals and teacher-librarians differed most on their current and future perceptions of the role of the principal in advocating and facilitating the development of an information literate school community; and (4) principals and teacher-librarians agreed that principals should spend more time informing new teaching staff about the importance of collaboration with the teacher-librarian.

Flexible Scheduling: How Does a Principal Facilitate Implementation?
Joy H. McGregor, Texas Woman's University, USA
Abstract
This study investigated flexible scheduling in U.S. elementary libraries that had received no funding to implement the change. The larger study examined many elements of the implementation, but this article looks specifically at the role of the principal in the implementation of flexible scheduling in the six schools involved. Principals’ beliefs and behaviors were described by principals, librarians, and teachers in regard to their role in implementation. Principals supported flexible scheduling because they believed it would have a positive impact on student learning. They were willing to take risks because they trusted their librarians to be leaders in the implementation process. Librarians depended on their principals to be strong advocates for the change to flexible scheduling and found that the change was facilitated by the principal's support.

The Principal's Perceptions of School Libraries and Teacher-Librarians
Gary Hartzell, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA
Abstract
There's no question that principal support is vital to the establishment and maintenance of a quality library media program. The problem is that support flows from trust, and trust flows from understanding. Many principals do not understand what teacher-librarians really do nor do they appreciate the potential the library media program has for contributing to student and faculty achievement. This article explores why this is so. Principals’ perceptions of school libraries and teacher-librarians have been shaped by four interactive forces. The first is their own experiences in school libraries as children, in which they perceived the library as peripheral to the classroom. The second is the effect of their professional training, in which the library's role in curriculum and instruction was conspicuously absent. The third is the nature of the teacher-librarian's work, which is to enable and empower others. The fourth is the low profile teacher-librarians and school libraries have in the professional literature read by teachers and administrators, which prevents them from updating their sense of what the library really is and can do. The cumulative result is that administrators have only a limited and inaccurate understanding of libraries and teacher-librarians. The only way to change principal perceptions is to assault them directly, repeatedly, and from a multiplicity of directions. Reshaping perceptions takes time and effort and commitment. In the meantime, these erroneous perceptions will continue to guide most principals' relationships with school library media specialists.

Last Updated 17 March 2003 (LAC)