Intan Azura Mokhtar

Use of school libraries by teachers in Singapore schools

Purpose – This paper presents the findings of a study that explores the use of school libraries and their resources by teachers, their level of collaboration with their school librarian, and the problems faced by them in using these libraries.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted and 76 teachers from seven schools in Singapore participated in the study.Findings – The results showed that teachers generally did not use their school libraries and various information resources effectively, mainly due to the inadequacy of their school libraries in terms of educational materials. In addition, teachers typically did not collaborate with their school librarian in planning their lessons or other academic activities.Research limitations/implications – The study only managed to involve 76 teachers from seven schools. A larger number of respondents would have been more desirable. However, these 76 respondents represented teachers with teaching experiences that ranged from less than 3 year...

Assessing students' information literacy skills in two secondary schools in Singapore

Appropriately measuring information literacy (IL) skills is essential to understand their educational impact as well as exploring pedagogies to improve teaching of these skills. This paper reports findings of a baseline study to understand the IL level of secondary school students in Singapore. A comprehensive instrument encompassing a new dimension of ethical usage of information as well as major IL principles and guidelines was developed for data collection. A total of 298 responses were gathered through the online survey. The findings indicate that overall there was a scope to improve students’ IL skills. That stated, higher order IL skills (such as information use, synthesis, and evaluation) demand more attention, as comparatively lower levels of proficiency were observed in this study.

Evidence-based practice and related information literacy skills of nurses in Singapore: An exploratory case study

Increased demand for medical or healthcare services has meant that nurses are to take on a more proactive and independent role intending to patients, providing basic treatment and deciding relevant clinical practice. This, in turn, translates into the need for nurses to be able to translate research and evidence into their practice more efficiently and effectively. Hence, competencies in looking for, evaluating, synthesizing and applying documented information or evidence-based practice becomes crucial. This article presents a quantitative study that involved more than 300 nurses from a large government hospital in Singapore. A self-reporting questionnaire was developed to collect data pertaining to evidence-based practice and activities, including those that demonstrate information literacy competencies. Results seem to suggest that the nurses preferred to use print and human information sources compared to electronic information sources; were not proactive in looking up research or evidence-based information and, instead, preferred such information to be fed to them; and that they perceived they lacked the ability to evaluate research papers or effectively search electronic information related to nursing or evidence-based practice. It was also found that more than 80% of the nurses have not had any training related to evidence-based practice.

Proposing a 6+3 model for developing information literacy standards for schools: A case for Singapore

Several comprehensive information literacy (IL) standards have been developed worldwide for use in the education sector, specifically for students and teachers. Apart from the more generic International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) IL standards, such standards are more appropriate for their countries of origins. If these standards are to be applied to schools in Southeast Asia, then some form of contextualization and customization is necessary to cater for gaps that surface due to their different and unique education environments and cultures. In addition, as a result of the growth of Web 2.0, information seeking moves rapidly in the social dimension. It is therefore timely to review ongoing research in the areas of collaborative information seeking and behavior, as well as education values in order to derive a set of up-to-date, relevant and holistic IL standards for schools. This paper proposes a model to help to develop IL standards for schools in Singapore that was constructed using the aforementioned standards as a guide, based on the paradigm of a popular information and technology literacy process model known as the Big6, and steered by related educational initiatives and education values that have been recently implemented in Singapore. The proposed model expounds each of the Big6 categories in terms of Techniques and Tools, and supplements those categories with three important mindsets of Ethics and Social Responsibility, Collaborative Information Behavior, and Attitudes and Perceptions.

Teaching information literacy for in-depth knowledge and sustained learning

Information literacy has been a popular slogan in the education sector since it was first used in the 1970s. Despite extensive recognition of the importance of information literacy in education and learning, its importance in the school curriculum has not yet been fully recognized. This paper discusses the importance of information literacy and the major standards and guidelines that have shaped its implementation in the school curriculum. Traditional methods of teaching information literacy through directed instruction, and sporadic or discrete school library workshops, have not been very successful in entrenching the necessary skills. This paper proposes a dynamic information literacy pedagogy that identifies and harnesses learners’ interests (in this case, with the use of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences). By identifying students’ dominant intelligences and thus their abilities, it can help ignite their interest in learning something new and unfamiliar. This in turn, can bring about a more effective erudition and prolonged retention of information literacy skills amongst learners. An introduction to an on-going experimental-action study that utilises this approach within the context of secondary school students (aged 14–15 years old) is also presented.

Bridging between information literacy and information technology in Singapore schools: an exploratory study

With rapid developments in information technology (IT) and the increasingly sophisticated abilities of IT users, schools have the inevitable task of integrating IT in their school curriculum. Owing to the prevalent use of educational technology in schools, it is often questioned whether information literacy (IL) is necessary in the school curriculum, especially when it is widely perceived that IT literacy is equivalent to IL. This article gives an overview of IT initiatives as well as IL strategies that have been implemented in Singapore schools and addresses the gaps that exist in the Singapore school education system in assimilating these two areas. On the basis of exploratory interviews with practitioners and academics in the area of education, several suggestions to bridge the gaps between IT and IL in the school curriculum are presented. These include compulsory IL training for all teachers; the revival of the now defunct School Libraries Unit within the Ministry of Education; the creation of the rol...

The construct of media and information literacy in Singapore education system: global trends and local policies

This paper discusses the representation of information literacy and media literacy in the Singapore education discourse as part of its twenty-first century competencies framework. Through examining the conceptual definitions, purposes/aims, and means of these two significant twenty-first century competencies in the global context and the Singapore education policy, the authors argue that despite both information literacy and media literacy have been widely recognized as crucial skills in the knowledge-based economy, they are perceived as separate concepts, given differentiated emphasis, and implemented using similar approaches by various governmental and educational agencies in Singapore. To facilitate the acquisition of these critical competencies, this paper argues that an overarching framework featuring the seamless integration of information and media literacy in school curricula and public education needs to be in place to clarify conceptual concerns and guide its practical implementation.

National Information Literacy Survey of Primary and Secondary School Students in Singapore - A Pilot Study

The National Library Board (NLB) and Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore have collaborated to carry out a National Information Literacy (IL) Program for primary and secondary school students. The program involves developing a curriculum framework that can be introduced in specific school subjects where IL competencies can be nurtured. Surveys were developed to identify students’ IL strengths and weaknesses and guide relevant intervention planning and implementation. IL academics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, were involved in formulating the proposed IL model for schools, curriculum framework, as well as in reviewing and assessing the findings of the surveys. At this point, the survey instrument has been formulated and a pilot test of the instrument has been administered to more than 70 primary school students and about 20 secondary school students. This paper shares the main analyses of the pilot survey, according to the proposed model for IL for Singapore schools.

Strengthening Information Literacy Competencies through Incorporating Personal Information Management Skills

Information Literacy (IL) and Personal Information Management (PIM) are two closely related and overlapping concepts. However, most of the existing IL models and standards do not put adequate emphasis on relevant PIM skills. This paper provides an overview of different PIM techniques and discusses their relationship with IL competencies. Proper integration of PIM techniques and tools into IL skills is likely to further strengthen competency level of an information literate person, resulting in saving time, effort and resources. This integration can also help overcome the problems of information overload and information fragmentation. This paper argues that information literacy training programs need to expand their scope by incorporating appropriate PIM skills to provide a more comprehensive skill set to their information users.

Using Information Technology to Improve Health Information Literacy in Singapore - An Exploratory Study

With many countries facing restructuring of medical and healthcare institutions, increasing healthcare costs, and the threat of various infectious diseases and epidemics, such as avian influenza and dengue haemorrhagic fever, it is inevitable that healthcare information be a major tool in addressing these issues. Doctors and healthcare providers may not always be available to attend to the needs of the masses with regard to health information. Thus, health information must be made easily accessible so that preventive action and proactive measures can be carried out by patients and their families. The proliferation of the Internet and swift developments in Information Technology (IT) can effortlessly expedite this accessibility. In this exploratory study, twelve individuals with medium to high IT competencies and substantial experience in using the Internet were interviewed on their health information needs and expectations. The paper presents their responses and suggestions to improve health information provision and literacy and how IT can be exploited to achieve these objectives.