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The effectiveness of the library skills component of the information skills project in a secondary school
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Type
Thesis
Author
Ho, Im Neo
Supervisor
Yeap, Lay Leng
Abstract
The Ministry of Education has since 1983 given much emphasis to the upgrading and development of school libraries in Singapore. Following this move, the Information Skills Project was implemented in 1987 to seven pilot schools. The project aims to provide students with the necessary training in library skills and information use. Students in the seven schools were taught basic library and information handling skills as part of the school's curriculum.
The success of the Information Skills Project is dependent on the effective utilization of the school library's resources, and the attitudes of the teachers in promoting library use across the curriculum. In the educational context, learning can only become more purposeful for the learners if they are given the opportunity to interact independently with learning resources beyond the limits of the classroom.
Hence, the study was to find out the effects of a programme of library instruction on the ability of students to use the school library. The study was conducted on 126 Secondary One students in the Express and Normal Streams from two secondary schools. These students were placed into two respective achievement groups according to their Primary School Leaving Examination. 60 students in intact classes were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 66 students to the control group. Both treatment groups were administered pretests prior to the start of the experiment. At the end of fifteen lessons, based on the library skills component of the Information Skills Project, a posttest was conducted after a three-week interval.
The students' responses related to their understanding of library concepts were measured by fifty-item pen-and-paper multiple choice test (Library Use and Information Skills Test). The Library Skills Practical Test, a task-oriented test was used to measure their ability to apply the knowledge taught in an actual library situation. Both tests were developed for the purpose of this study. The Students' Background Data Survey questionnaire was administered to help identify common areas and differences among the students.
The findings showed that students from both the Express and Normal Streams in the experimental group performed significantly different from those in the control group. However, there were no significant differences on performance in the practical test between the two achievement groups; the Express and Normal Streams. The Normal Stream students in the experimental group scored slightly higher mean learning gains as compared to those in the Express Stream on the pen-and-paper test. There was interaction between the teaching of library skills and the treatment groups, but no significant effects were found for sex difference.
The findings in this study implied that library skills can be effectively taught to all students regardless of their achievement levels. The level of achievement does not necessarily determine the students' ability to perform better or poorer on the tests.
The success of the Information Skills Project is dependent on the effective utilization of the school library's resources, and the attitudes of the teachers in promoting library use across the curriculum. In the educational context, learning can only become more purposeful for the learners if they are given the opportunity to interact independently with learning resources beyond the limits of the classroom.
Hence, the study was to find out the effects of a programme of library instruction on the ability of students to use the school library. The study was conducted on 126 Secondary One students in the Express and Normal Streams from two secondary schools. These students were placed into two respective achievement groups according to their Primary School Leaving Examination. 60 students in intact classes were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 66 students to the control group. Both treatment groups were administered pretests prior to the start of the experiment. At the end of fifteen lessons, based on the library skills component of the Information Skills Project, a posttest was conducted after a three-week interval.
The students' responses related to their understanding of library concepts were measured by fifty-item pen-and-paper multiple choice test (Library Use and Information Skills Test). The Library Skills Practical Test, a task-oriented test was used to measure their ability to apply the knowledge taught in an actual library situation. Both tests were developed for the purpose of this study. The Students' Background Data Survey questionnaire was administered to help identify common areas and differences among the students.
The findings showed that students from both the Express and Normal Streams in the experimental group performed significantly different from those in the control group. However, there were no significant differences on performance in the practical test between the two achievement groups; the Express and Normal Streams. The Normal Stream students in the experimental group scored slightly higher mean learning gains as compared to those in the Express Stream on the pen-and-paper test. There was interaction between the teaching of library skills and the treatment groups, but no significant effects were found for sex difference.
The findings in this study implied that library skills can be effectively taught to all students regardless of their achievement levels. The level of achievement does not necessarily determine the students' ability to perform better or poorer on the tests.
Date Issued
1991
Call Number
Z711.2 Ho
Date Submitted
1991