information literacy as a transversal competency

Literacy and Society, Culture, Media & Education Conference, Ghent, Belgium, 9-11 February 2012 1

Information Literacy as a Transversal Competency

Prof. Dr. Serap KurbanoğluHacettepe University

Department of Information Management


Today’s world is characterised by

• globalisation

• modernisation

• complexity

• competition

• challenge

• interdependence

• constant change


Individuals need wide range of competencies

• to keep up with the change

• to adapt

• to participate

• to compete

• to suceed

• to survive


Definition of competency

• ability to meet complex demands by drawing on knowledge, skills and attitudes in a particular context

• the ability to communicate effectively is a competency that may draw on an individual’s – knowledge of language – practical IT skills– attitudes towards those with whom he is communicating


Importance of competencies

(DeSeCo Project, 1997)


Identifying key competencies

• essential

– to assess how well prepared individuals are for life’s challenges

– to draw policy lessons– to identify goals for education systems – to enable sustainable development– to enable social cohesion – to enable social equity



• not an easy task

• one needs to answer certain questions

– what demands does today’s society place on its citizens?– what individuals need in order to function well in society?– what competencies do they need to find and to hold down a job? – what competencies do they need to succeed in daily

life/school/work?– what competencies do they need to cope with changing

technology?


Key/core/ transversal competencies

• of particular value for both individuals and societies

• usefull in multiple areas of life (wide variety of context)

• important for everyone, not just for specialists



• PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment, OECD, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012)– to monitor to what extent students near the end of compulsory

schooling have acquired the knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society

• DeSeCo (Definition and Selection of Competencies, OECD, 1997 –connected with PISA)– to identify a small set of key competencies

• SCANS (Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, US Department of Labor, 2000)– to examine the demands of the workplace and to identify

competencies for employability• ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)

– to identify key competencies for students and teachers


Transversal competencies

• use tools interactively– use language, symbols and texts interactively– use knowledge and information interactively– use technology interactively

• interact in heterogeneous groups– relate well to others– co-operate, work in teams– manage and resolve conflicts

• act autonomously– act within the big picture– form and conduct life plans and personal projects– defend and assert rights, interests, limits and needs

(DeSeCo Project, 1997)


Workplace/employability competencies

• Resource management skills– allocating time, money, materials, space, and staff

• Interpersonal skills– working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating,

and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds• Information skills

– acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communicating, and using computers to process information

• Systems skills– understanding social, organizational, and technological systems, monitoring

and correcting performance, and designing or improving systems• Technology skills

– selecting equipment and tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting technologies

(SCANS Report, 1991)


Fundamental skills and qualities

• Basic skills– Reading, writing, arithmetic/mathematics, speaking, listening

• Thinking skills– creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, knowing how

to learn, reasoning

• Personal qualities– responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management,

integrity/honesty(SCANS Report, 1991)


Competencies for students

• to learn effectively for a lifetime and live productively in our emerging global society:

– ability to demonstrate creativity and innovation – ability to communicate and collaborate – ability to conduct research and use information – ability to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions – ability to use technology effectively and productively

(ISTE, 2007)


Information literacy - definitions

• the ability to solve information problems (ALA, 2000)

• a survival skill in the information age (ALA, 1989)

• the ability of transforming information into knowledge

(Gawith, 2000)



• is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information”

(ALA, 1989)

• is knowing when and why one needs information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner

(CILIP)



• the ability to effectively identify, access, evaluate and make use of information in its various formats, and to choose the appropriate medium for communication. It also encompasses knowledge and attitudes related to ethical and social issues surrounding information and information technology

(California Academic and Research Libraries Task Force, 1997)

• a mean to “empower people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals”

(Alexandria Proclamation, 2005)


An evolving concept

• information skills

• higher order thinking skills

• the format of information

• other related skills

• social and ethical issues


An umbrella term

Visual literacy

Media literacyComputer literacy

Library literacy


Need for updating

the existing knowledge

Need for new skills

Need for

life long learning

Keeping up with change


Lifelong learning

• All learning activities undertaken throughout life on an ongoing basis in a variety of formal and informal settings, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills, understanding and competence, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective

(NIACE, 2003)

• Content mastered by graduation is soon outdated or forgotten. Learning should continue beyond formal education


Lifelong learning

Independent learning Information literacy

Inter-related concepts


The importance of IL

• is a prerequisite for lifelong learning• enables individuals to find appropriate information for

personal and professional problems• is a prerequisite for participative citizenship, • is a prerequisite for social inclusion, • enables personal, vocational, corporate and

organisational empowerment• enables individuals to deal with rapidly changing

environments• enables adaptation to the information society


The importance of IL

• enables individulas to assume greater control over their own learning and life

• is vital for creating knowledgeable citizens and the creation of new knowledge

• is crucial to the competitive advantage of individuals, enterprises, regions, and nations

• maintains employability and productivity • improves personal choices and options• is essential for socio-economic development• creates highly skilled work force and strong societies• essential for survival in the future


The importance of IL is increasing

• Expanding quantity of information

• Uncertain quality of information

• Characteristics of new generation

• Proliferation of e-government applications and services


Expanding quantity of information

• The total of all printed information doubles every five years (Bundy, 1999)

• More information has been generated in the last three decades than in all the previous 5000 put together (Bundy, 1999)

• 5 exabytes of information produced in 2002 (Lyman and Varian 2003)


How big is five exabytes?

• If digitized, the nineteen million books and other print collections in the Library of Congress would contain about ten terabytes of information

• Five exabytes of information is equivalent in size to the information contained in half a million new libraries the size of the Library of Congress print collections (Lyman and Varian 2003)


Information overload

• refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/440585/2/istockphoto_440585_information_overload.jpg


Information fatigue syndrome

• This disorder was first recognized in the 1990′s by a Dr. David Lewis


Information fatigue syndrome

Symptoms of this disorder include:– the paralysis of the analytical capacity – increased anxiety – increased stress – sleeplessness– constant searches for more information – increased self-doubt in decision making

Caused mainly by:– doubts about having the right information– doubts about having enough information?


Uncertain quality of information

• New technologies (Web 2.0) allow everyone to participate in exploring, creating, spreading and commenting on information

• Information increasingly comes unfiltered (lack of peer review and editorship)

• Questions about reliability

• Users should understand these and be critical in depending on them


The age of the amateurs

• Amateur authors

• Amateur editors

• Amateur critics

• Amateur searchers


Characteristics of new generation

• They were born during the computer age and grew up in a technological world

• They are referred to as – Internet Generation, – Generation Y, – Echo Boomers, – The Plug-and-Play-Generation, – Millenials, – The Game Boy Generation, – The-Cut-and-Paste Generation

(Rockman, 72)

• They are a much more technically sophisticated generation than previous generations


Digital natives / Digital immigrants


Google generation

• Google has become their reference desk (Oblinger and Hawkins, 2006)

• They believe they know how to search by typing words into Google

• They want single search boxes like Amazon and Google which give instant satisfaction

• They find library databases too difficult and have no interest in learning about Boolean logic (Godwin, 2006)


Internet generation

• They navigate the web by trial and error and ignore manuals and help sheets

• They believe that everything is on the Web (Salo, 2006)• They think that what is written down and on the web

must be correct• They are either confused or ignorant about ethical issues

of the content they are using• They cut and paste rather than read and digest what

they find• They don’t want to consult a librarian• Wikipedia has become their primary reference source

(Godwin, 2006)• They are now using Web 2.0 tools to create web content


Internet generation


Proliferation of e-goverment services and applications

• information and services for the citizens and businesses are increasingly in e-form

• requires– online information search– online information usage– online communication – use of online forms and documents –electronic documents– electronic signature


IL skills has never been so crucial


The necessity of IL education

Evidence indicates that students

• are entering university without core information literacy skills and abilities such as critical thinking, decision making and self directed learning

• leave the university without the necessary transferable skills to cope in an information based society

• are not picking up information literacy skills on their own


Conclusions: IL is a transversal competency• valueable for both individuals and societies

– personal development and empowerment– highly skilled workforce– strong societies

• usefull in multiple areas of life (wide variety of context)– educational– social– occupational– personal

• important for everyone, not just for specialists– students– professionals– layman– elderly– unemployed


Conclusions & Suggestions

• Today IL skills are required by – educational organizations– accreditation organizations – employers in the workplace for organizational success– society, which needs an informed citizenry that is capable of

making well-reasoned and well-founded decisions

• Measures should be taken to equip every individual in the socity with IL skills


Suggestions: Key players

• educational institutions– K12, higher education, vocational education

• libraries– academic, school, public

• employers– in-service training

• governmental organizations– policy makers

• non-governmental organizations– professional associations


References • ALA. (2000). Information literacy: a position paper on information problem solving. Wisconsin: Wisconsin Educational

Media Association. • ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. (1989). Final report. Chicago:ALA. • Bundy, A. (ed). (2004). Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework principles, standards and

practise (2nd ed). Adeliane: Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy.• Friedman, J. L. (2005). The world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.• Godwin, P. (2006). Information literacy in the age of amateurs: How Google and Web 2.0 affect librarians’ support of

information literacy. • Godwin, P. (2007). The Web 2.0 challenge to Information Literacy. INFORUM 2007: 13th Conference on Professional

Information Resources, Prague, May 22-24, 2007.• Godwin, P. & Parker, J. (2008). Information literacy meets Library 2.0. London: Facet.• Lyman, P. & Varian, H. R. (2003). How much information? Ann Arbor,MI: University of Michigan.• Maness, J. M. (2006). Library 2.0 theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for libraries. Webology, 3(2).

http://www.webology.ir/2006/v3n2/a25.html• Oblinger, D. G. & Hawkins, B. L. (2006). The myth about student competency ”our students are technologically

competent”. Educause Review, 41(2). http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm06/erm0627.asp• Rychen, D. S. and Salganik, L. H. (eds.). (2003). Key competencies for a successful life and a well-functioning society.• Rychen, D. S. and Salganik, L. H. (eds.) (2001). Defining and selecting key competencies.• Salganik, L. H., Rychen, D. S., Moser, U., and J. Konstant, J. (1999). Projects on competencies in the OECD context:

Analysis of theoretical and conceptual foundations.• Salo, D. (2006). Design speaks. Library Journal, 15 Oct. 2006.• Secker, J. (2008). Social software, libraries and distance learners: literature review. London: University of London• Valenza, J. (2006). Web 2.0 meets information fluency. Joyce Valenza’s NeverEnding Seacr, blog.

http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/tag/information-fluency/• Rockman, I. F. (2004). Integrating information literacy into the higher education curriculum: practical models for

transformation. San Francisco: John Wiley.• Snavely, L. ve Cooper, N. (1997). The information literacy debate. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 23(1), 9-13.

http://www.webology.ir/2006/v3n2/a25.html

http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm06/erm0627.asp

http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/tag/information-fluency/


Questions!

Prof. Dr. Serap KurbanoğluHacettepe University

Department of Information Management

information literacy as a transversal competency

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