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63rd IFLA General Conference - Conference Programme and Proceedings - August 31- September 5, 1997

Understanding principal patronage: developing and piloting a quantitative instrument.

James Henri

and

Lyn Hay


ABSTRACT

In this paper the authors provide the background that lead to the implementation of this project. The problems associated with the pilot of the instrument and the choice of a convenience sample are discussed. Extracts from two of the instruments are given and a detailed account of the reason for changes is provided. An overview of the statistical measures that can be used is included.


PAPER

Background: the qualitative study

During 1995 the writers conducted a detailed qualitative research project that examined the ways that principals working within an information literate school community were able to provide support to the teacher librarian. This project was conducted in a metropolitan school region within the New South Wales Department of Education (Australia). The principals and teacher librarians in six school were interviewed; including three primary and three secondary schools.

The researchers developed a framework for discussion of the principal's role in developing and supporting an information literate community. This framework was developed from the premise that a successful school library program requires the active support of the principal who is best positioned to nurture the collaborative culture within which an integrated library program is able to flourish. Likewise, the leadership provided from the principal is a key ingredient in a school's successful adoption of the information technology that enables a school to pursue the goal of information literacy.

The qualitative project made use of the work of researchers La Rocque and Oberg (1991) and Oberg (1995) who investigated principal influence in a small urban school district in Alberta, Canada.

The qualitative research project did not seek evidence to prove or disprove hypotheses that were held prior to entering the study - a top down research model. The researchers intent was to employ a bottom-up methodology, where theory could be developed as abstructions are built from the particulars that have been gathered or grouped together. The research was to be used not only to find answers but also to learn what the important questions were. A further important element of the research was to gain an understanding of the point of view of principals and teacher librarians and to explore the relationship of these views.

This qualitative research project employed unstructured interviews (Bodgan and Biklen, 1982; Powney and Watts, 1987; McMillan and Schumacher, 1993) with teacher librarians and school principals of six schools, which were reputed to have had success in developing an information literate school community.

The researchers devised a set of key areas for discussion for both the principals and teacher librarians, which they used as a guide during the interviewing process. These included:

Areas for Discussion: Principals

Areas for Discussion: Teacher Librarians

The key findings of the project have been documented elsewhere and can be highlighted under the following ten themes (the first four being major).

The principal:

The principal and teacher librarian:

The teacher librarian:

Background: IFLA Support

In December 1995 IFLA Division III (Libraries Serving the General Public) agreed to provide funding to underpin the extension of this research to facilitate the development and piloting of a quantitative instrument that could be employed on an international scale. The objectives of this second stage of the principal research agenda were to:

In July 1996 IASL (International Association of School Librarianship) awarded the authors with the assistance of Dianne Oberg additional funding to further support the establishment of an International Reference Group consisting of six countries - Canada, France, Japan, Finland, South Korea and Scotland - to implement the replication of this quantitative research project.

Designing the instruments

Selected members of International Reference Group and significant people in Australian teacher librarianship were asked to comment on the pilot version of the quantitative instrument. The instrument was developed in a number of distinct parts and included open ended questions to be analysed qualitatively. Questions were based on the findings of the qualitative study but were not grouped within categories. It was decided that grouping might affect perceptions and that grouping could be achieved at the point of analysis rather than at the point of data collection. A number of negative questions were included in an attempt to test the reliability of the responses. A four point Likert scale was employed with zero weighting for an additional category ‘cannot comment’. A five point scale was rejected on the advice that in this scale respondents may use the mid point 3 score as a short cut to serious thinking. Scoring was established in the reverse order of 4 to 1 as a match against the value of the choice (that is 4 equals a lot and 1 equals none). Extracts of two of the instruments are shown below as Figures 1 and 2. The terminology used was Australian since that was the country in which the instrument was being tested. It was decided that country specific nomenclature was preferable to generic nomenclature. Where there is not standard practice the researchers used a term that would be well understood such as library resource centre for school library.
Figure 1. Principal Instrument 

To be completed by School Principal

	Present Situation			           
	How much attention is this item receiving?			
	A Lot    Some   Little    None     Cannot Comment                                                        
	  4       3        2       1          0

	Preferred Situation
	How much more attention should this item receive?
	A Lot    Some    Little    None    Cannot Comment
	  4       3        2        1          0

                   Perception Factors                      Present        Preferred

I advocate and facilitate the development of 
 an information literate school community
		
I ensure that the attainment of information 
 literacy is part of the school plan and other 
 written documents	
	
I believe that the teacher librarian should be 
 a key player in the schools information literacy 
 programs		

I demonstrate support for collaboration among
 the teacher librarian and class teachers	
	
Where possible I would prefer to advertise 
 the position of teacher librarian rather than 
 accept an unknown person by way of transfer	
	
Should an unqualified teacher librarian be 
 appointed to my school I would expect that
  s/he undertake a specialist qualification		

I do not expect the teacher librarian to be 
 tied to the library resource centre.  		

I ensure that the teacher librarian has an 
 appropriate allocation of support staff and 
 volunteers		

I ensure that the school library resource 
 centre objectives reflect school goals	
	
I do not expect staff to involve themselves
 in the development of library resource 
 centre policies and objectives	
	
I allocate adequate, flexible time for the 
 teacher librarian to administer the library 
 resource centre		

I would expect that staff development plans 
 would address aspects of teachers’ information 
 literacy		

I support the development of a resource collection
 that is current and relevant to the curriculum needs
 of the school		

I ensure that significant funding is allocated to the 
library resource centre budget	
	
I supervise the teacher librarian	
	
I engage in regular and timely communication
 with the teacher librarian 		

I do not ask questions of the teacher librarian
 about teaching and learning	
	
I work with the teacher librarian to develop
 his/her personal professional devolopment plan		

I encourage the teacher librarian to promote the
 meaningful use of information resources and IT
 and to provide appropriate inservicing to staff
		
I do not encourage the teacher librarian to take risks		

When the teacher librarian is not represented on a
 key committee I ensure that the needs of the library
 resource centre are not overlooked	
	
I encourage the teacher librarian to take a leadership
 role in the  development and maintenance of a
 school wide continuum of information skills		
		
	
 
Figure 2. Teacher Librarian Instrument

To be completed by Teacher Librarian


	Present Situation			           
	How much attention is this item receiving?			
	A Lot    Some   Little    None     Cannot Comment                                                        
	  4       3        2       1          0

	Preferred Situation
	How much more attention should this item receive?
	A Lot    Some    Little    None    Cannot Comment
	  4       3        2        1          0

                   Perception Factors                      Present        Preferred

The principal advocates and facilitates the
 development of an information literate school
 community	
	
The principal ensures that the attainment of
 information literacy is part of the school plan
 and other written documents	
	
The principal encourages and facilitates the
 professional development of staff	
	
The principal understands and advocates the
 role of the teacher librarian in the schools
 instructional program	
	
The principal believes that the teacher librarian
 should be a key player in the schools information
 literacy programs		

The principal demonstrates support for
 collaboration among the teacher librarian and
 class teachers		

The principal advocates the employment of teachers
 who have appropriate post-service qualifications
 as teacher librarians	
	
Where possible the principal would prefer to advertise
 the position of teacher librarian rather than accept an
 unknown person by way of transfer	
	
Should an unqualified teacher librarian be appointed to
 my school the principal would expect that s/he
 undertake a specialist qualification
		
The principal does not expect the teacher librarian
 to be tied to the library resource centre.  		

Choosing the sample

The original intention had been to trial the questionnaire in the same region in which the qualitative project had been undertaken. At the time that approval was sought, however, the New South Wales government undertook a major restructure within school education and the ten Regions were abolished and a new structure based on School Districts was created. The implementation of this structure and changes in the way that approvals for school based research were administered created some significant delays in the commencement of the research. When the time line had become critical and approval had still not been received (despite a number of faxes and telephone conversations) the researchers chose to use a convenience sample to test the instrument.

A call for participants was posted on the Australian teacher librarianship listserv OZTL_NET asking teacher librarians to talk with their principals and to seek their participation in the project.

While the use of a convenience sample and the use of a listserv had not been intended such an approach did have advantages. First and foremost the approach cut through the ‘red tape’ that surrounds research in schools’. Within a few days of posting the request over fifty indications of interest had been received. (Further requests were later received but were too late to be included.) In fact it appeared as though many schools were pleased to have the opportunity to ‘show off’.

Distributing the instruments

Schools that volunteered to be included in the project had responded to the email request that had been posted on OZTL_NET except for two who had heard of the post from colleagues. These two schools requested that the instruments be posted to them while the others were emailed their copies as an attachment in ‘rich text format’ to facilitate translation. It was assumed that given that these schools had Internet connections and that the teacher librarians were active in cyberspace that this would be appropriate and facilitate a quick response time. As it turned out only a handful of the respondents could handle the translation and further copies had to be faxed or mailed.

Testing the instruments

The convenience sample provided the researchers with the opportunity to test the instrument in a broader range of settings than would have been possible in the original setting. The sample included schools from each Australian State and Territory, from primary and secondary schools, and from government and non-government schools.

The first thing that became clear was that respondents had a problem with interpreting the coding for the present and preferred situations. This problem occurred partly because of the wording under the preferred heading which was ‘how much more attention should this item receive?’ the problem was the word ‘more’. Respondents were unsure how they should score this. If for example a 2 had been used in the present situation column and the respondent believed that the item should receive a 4 then should a 4 be inserted under preferred or a 2? Clearly the intention of the instrument was not to test respondents mathematical skills which became a factor with ‘more’. In addition the use of ‘preferred’ itself was a problem and could be better described by ‘future’.

The use of a present and future column is in itself interesting. In one sense it could be argued that the ideal scenario for all factors is a 4 so a future column is redundant. This however assumes that the factors in the instrument are indeed the key measures of an information literate school community. While the designers of the instrument may think that what do the respondents think is the crucial question.

The wording of many of the questions created problems in terms of the range ‘a lot’ to ‘none’. While this range works well for measures of action it does not work for measures of belief. This necessitated the creation of two sections within the questionnaire to allow for scoring of action statements and belief statements. This division also meant that the statements were considerably tightened for meaning. (It should be noted that attention being paid to an item does not necessarily equate to the amount of time spent on an item. Likewise just because one item receives a greater allocation of time than another does not of itself indicate that it should receive the higher rating.)

The point of seeking perceptions of the statements from both the principal and the teacher librarian is complicated. It would be possible to gain principal perceptions of principals alone and this would indeed be valid. However, the strength here is the opportunity to compare and contrast the perceptions of the two critical information literacy agents. The action questions are designed to provide the principal’s perception of his/her attention to each item. Likewise, the teacher librarian comments on his/her perception of the principal’s attention to these factors. In the belief section information is sought from the principal on his/her belief about each item. The instrument does not ask the teacher librarian to guess what the principal’s beliefs are but rather seeks the teacher librarian’s beliefs. This means that there is an opportunity to measure the fit between perceptions about the principal’s actions and there is an opportunity to compare the beliefs held by the principal and teacher librarian. The qualitative study mentioned above provided strong evidence that a match in belief was a key factor in the support provided by the principal.

The pilot indicated that there were some problems with understanding the use of words such as teacher and teaching. For example did class teacher include specialist teacher? Did teacher include teacher librarian? The choice of the nomenclature ‘teaching staff’ seems to overcome these problems.

One respondent objected vigorously to the inclusion of reference to volunteer staff arguing that the ‘system’ ought to provide a requisite number of paid staff. The researchers have accepted this argument and deleted this from the instruments.

The pilot instrument required the teacher librarian to provide demographic detail on the school and to provide information with respect to the principal’s qualification and experience. This did not work well. Consequently the principal is now requested to provide school information and the other personal/professional information requests have been expanded. This section is crucial because it provides the variables against which the data can be measured.

The length of the instruments is a challenge and requires a level of commitment on the part of respondents. It is , however, argued that the pilot did not indicate that it was an overriding concern. A small number of additional questions are asked of the teacher librarian but again this did not appear to create any concern.

Whilst there were many alterations required in the quantitative statements the open ended questions proved to be very useful and drew out a great deal of additional information from the respondents. These questions could, however, be discarded if it were decided to run with a totally quantitative instrument.

Data analysis

The instruments lend themselves to significant quantitative and qualitative analysis. Some of the analysis conducted for the pilot included:

Administering the instruments

The collection of data in non electronic form magnifies the cost of the data analysis and maximises the possibility of error. This pilot also highlighted the problem of inadequate returns where one of but not both the teacher librarian and the principal returned completed instruments.

As was noted above the administering of the instruments by email was a problem even when respondents had Internet access. On the other hand dispatch by fax and snail mail is fraught with problems. With these concerns in mind the researchers have developed a Web based approach to the administering of the instruments. Where respondents do not have access to the Web the country administrator is able to send a printed version of the instruments to the respondent and then to enter the data on the Web.

Bibliography

Bogden, R.C. & Biklen S.K. (1992). Qualitative research for education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Beare, H., Caldwell, B.J. and Milliken, R. (1989). Creating an excellent school. London: Routledge.

Bredeson, P.V. (1987). Principally speaking: an analysis of the interpersonal communications of school principals. Journal of Educational Administration. 25(1): 55-71.

Campbell, J.M. (1992). Principal school library media relations as perceived by selected North Carolina elementary principals and school library media specialists. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, 2336A.

Corbett, H.D. (1983). Principals have a big role to play in maintaining change. Panorama. 4(2): 25-26.

Dekker, B. (1989). Principals and teacher-librarians - their roles and attitudes regarding school libraries: results of a survey of elementary schools in Ontario. School Libraries in Canada. 10(2): 32-37.

Fullan, M. (1982). The meaning of educational change. Toronto, Canada: OISE Press.

Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces!: probing the depths of educational reform. London: Falmer Press.

Hamilton, D. (1983). The principal and the school library. Education Canada. Fall: 30-35.

Hartzell, G. (1995). Building influence and the school librarian. Paper presented at the 24th IASL Conference 17-21 July 1995. Worcester, UK.

Hay, Lyn. (1996). Principally speaking... we need to communicate our vision. Keynote address, North West NSW Districts Teacher Librarians Conference, Tamworth, May 1996.

Hay, L. and Henri, J. (1995). Leadership for collaboration: making vision work. Paper presented at IFLA 61 Turkey Sept 1995.

Hay, L. and Kallenberger, N. (1996). The Future Role of the School Information Services Unit in the Teaching/Learning Process. ITEC's Electronic Networking and Australasia's Schools Conference, Sydney, 12-13 April 1996. Available at

Haycock, K. (1981). Getting to first base: developing support from school principals. School Libraries in Canada 1(3): 17-18.

Haycock, K. (1992). What works: research about teaching and learning through the school's library resource center. Seattle, Wash: Rookland Press.

Haycock, K. (1995). Teacher librarianship: bridging the gap between theory and practice. In Sustaining the vision: a selection of conference papers of the 24th IASL Conference 17 - 21 July 1995. Worcester College of Higher Education, Worcester, UK, pp.26-33.

Henri, J. (1988). The school curriculum. 2nd ed. Wagga Wagga, N.S.W.: Centre for Information Studies.

Henri, J. (1995). The information literate school community: exploring a fuzzy concept. SCAN. 14(3), August: 25-28.

Henri, J. (1997). Powerful partnerships: principal and teacher librarian. Paper presented at the New South Wales Catholic secondary teacher librarians conference. Bowral, 4 August.

Henri, J. and Hay, L. (1995a). Teacher librarians must be principally minded. School Libraries in Canada. 15(4), Fall: 20-21.

Henri, J. and Hay, L. (1995b). The principal's role in developing and supporting an information literate school community. ASLA XIV Fremantle 1995 Beyond the Horizon Conference proceedings.

Holland, S. (1994). Teacher-Librarians working with principals. The Canadian School Executive. April: 28-29, 31.

Kulleseid, E.R. (1985). Beyond survival to power for school library media specialists. Hamden, Conn.: Library Professional Publications.

La Rocque, L. and Oberg, D. (1991). The principal's role in a successful library program. The Canadian School Executive. October: 27-30.

Linderman, W.B. (1944). What should the school librarian expect of the school principal? The School Review: 611-617.

Lipham, J. (1981). Effective principal, effective school. Reston. Va.: NASSP.

McMillan, James H. & Schumacher, S. (1993). Research in education: a conceptual introduction. 3rd ed. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers.

Martin, B. and Carson, B. (1981). The principal's handbook on the school library media center. Hamden, Conn.: Library Professional Publications.

Oberg, D. (1995). Principal support: what does it mean to teacher-librarians? In Sustaining the vision: a selection of conference papers of the 24th IASL Conference 17 - 21 July 1995. Worcester College of Higher Education, Worcester, UK, pp.17-25.

Rosenholtz, S. (1985). Effective schools: interpreting the evidence. American Journal of Education. 53(3): 352-359.

Rosenholtz, S. (1989). Teachers' workplace: the social organisation of schools. New York: Longman.

Wilkes, D. (1992). Schools for the 21st century: new roles for teachers and principals. (Hot topics, useable research). SERVE, Tallahassee: FL.

Wilson, P.J., Blake, M. and Lyders, J.A. (1993). Principals and teacher-librarians: a study and a plan for partnership. Emergency Librarian, 21(1): 18-24.

Yetter, C.L. (1994). Resource-based learning in the information age school: the intersection of roles and relationships of the school library media specialist, teacher, and principal (Doctoral dissertation, Seattle University, 1994). Dissertation Abstracts International, 55, 1130A.

Appendix: The revised instruments.

Principal Instrument 1: Demographics

Please provide the following data which will provide a basis for understanding your answers to the questionnaire. Tick or provide data as required.

1. Type of school: 	government ___	non-government   ___
	
			K-6____	7-12____	Other (please specify)_____

			rural  			urban  		

2. Size of school:	Number of teachers 		  		
						
			Number of students 		

			Number of teacher librarians (if less than one full time please 				indicate number of days/hours per week)  				


3. Number of Internet connections in the school  		
		
4. Number of Internet access points (terminals) in the school  			


5. Your age: 	20-29 years
		30-39 years
		40-49 years
		50-59 years
		60 years and over

6. Gender:	Female
		Male


7. Your academic qualifications  								

8. Your number of years of teaching prior to appointment as a principal  			

9. Number of years in your current position  		

10. Your number of years in Executive positions  		

11. Number of teacher librarians you have worked with since becoming a principal 	


12. Your membership of professional associations (please name)

																																												
					 

Principal Instrument 2

To be completed by School Principal

Part A: Perception Factors

Present Situation				Future Situation
How much attention do I give this item?		How much attention would I like to give this item?
A Lot	Some	Little	None  Cannot Comment  	 A Lot	Some	Little	None	Cannot Comment
  4	3	2	1	0	           4       3       2       1       0

1. I advocate and facilitate the development of an information literate school community.		

2. I ensure that the attainment of information literacy is part of the school plan.
		
3. I encourage and facilitate the professional development of staff.
		
4. I understand and advocate the role of the teacher librarian (as per ministry/system 
policies) in the school's instructional program.
	
5. I demonstrate support for collaboration among the teacher librarian and teaching staff.	
	
6. I ensure that the school library resource centre objectives reflect school goals.

7. I ensure that the teacher librarian has an appropriate allocation of support staff.

8. I allocate adequate, flexible time for the teacher librarian to administer the library 
resource centre.

9. I encourage the teaching staff to involve themselves in the development of library 
resource centre policies and programs.

10. I encourage the teaching staff to invest time in cooperatively planning and teaching 
with the teacher librarian.

11. I encourage and facilitate the professional development of teaching staff to enhance 
their understanding and use of information technology. 

12. I inform new staff about the importance of collaborating with the teacher librarian.		

13. I support the development of a resource collection that is current and relevant to 
the curriculum needs of the school.

14. I encourage staff debate about information policy.
		
15. I ensure that significant funding is allocated to the library resource centre budget.		

16. I actively seek outside school funding possibilities that can be used to supplement 
the library resource centre budget.
	
17. I engage in regular and timely communication with the teacher librarian.

18. I visit the library resource centre to observe the work of the teacher librarian.
		
19. I encourage the teacher librarian to debate and justify current practice.
		
20. I ask questions of the teacher librarian about teaching and learning.
		
21. I rely on the teacher librarian to keep me abreast of developments that affect 
his/her role. 	

22. I seek advice from the teacher librarian with respect to issues of whole school
 information management.		

23. I encourage the teacher librarian to take risks.
	
24. I encourage teachers to employ a wide range of information resources in their 
teaching programs.

25. I encourage the teacher librarian to take a leadership role in the development and 
maintenance of a school wide information skills continuum.

26. I work with the teacher librarian to develop his/her personal professional 
development plan.
		
27. I advocate that the teacher librarian be a member of key school committees to 
tap into his/her expertise and schoolwide perspective.

28. I encourage teachers to incorporate the learning and use of a range of information 
skills into their teaching programs and to assess process skills as well as content.

29. I provide time release and funding to the teacher librarian to undertake ongoing 
professional development.

30. When the teacher librarian is not represented on a key committee I ensure that 
the needs of the library resource centre are addressed.
		
31. I seek feedback from staff about their impressions of the quality of library resource 
centre services.


Part B: Belief Factors

Please indicate the strength of your belief for each of these items.
Strongly Agree     Agree    Disagree   Strongly Disagree    Cannot Comment
  4                  3          2              1                 0	

32. I believe that the teacher librarian should be a key player in the school's 
information literacy programs.

33. I believe that a teacher librarian ought to have a qualification in education 
and librarianship.

34. I believe teacher librarians ought to be appointed according to a merit 
selection process.

35. Should an unqualified teacher librarian be appointed to my school, I would 
expect that s/he undertake a specialist qualification in teacher librarianship.
		
36. I expect the teacher librarian to spend all of his/her day in the library resource 
centre.  

37. I believe that staff development plans should address the development of 
teachers’ information literacy.

38. I believe that the teacher librarian should be timetabled to cover classroom 
teachers' release from face-to-face (RFF) time.

39. I identify the teacher librarian as an information technology (IT) leader 
in the school.

40. I believe that the teacher librarian should provide a flexible timetable that 
best meets the needs of individual students, groups, and whole classes.

41. I believe that Internet access should be availablethrough the library
 resource centre. 

42. I believe that students should have individual access to the library resource 
centre during class time. 

43. I believe that the principal should supervise the teacher librarian.

44. I believe that the teacher librarian should provide appropriate inservicing to 
the teaching staff.

45. I believe it is important that principals act as role models and mentors to staff 
who are reticent about the appropriate instructional use of information technology.

46. I believe that cooperative planning and teaching should occur in the classroom 
as well as in the library resource centre.

47. When the teacher librarian is absent, I believe that it is necessary to fill his/her 
position with a suitably qualified replacement.

48. I believe that teacher librarians should be supported to achieve Advanced Skills 
Teacher (AST) status and appropriate executive positions.

49. My acceptance of the teacher librarian's professional judgement relates directly 
to his/her credibility.

50. I believe that I am well placed to judge the teacher librarian’s professional 
competence.	


1. I advocate and facilitate the development of an information literate school 
community		

2. I ensure that the attainment of information literacy is part of the school plan		

3. I encourage and facilitate the professional development of staff		

4. I understand and advocate the role of the teacher librarian (as per 
ministry/system policy) in the school's instructional program		

I believe that the teacher librarian should be a key player in the schools
 information literacy programs

I demonstrate support for collaboration among the teacher librarian 
and class teachers

I advocate the employment of teachers who have appropriate post-service 
qualifications as teacher librarians		

Where possible I would prefer to advertise the position of teacher librarian 
rather than accept an unknown person by way of transfer
		
Should an unqualified teacher librarian be appointed to my school I would 
expect that s/he undertake a specialist qualification		

I do not expect the teacher librarian to be tied to the library resource centre.  		

I encourage and facilitate the professional development of staff to enhance 
their understanding and use of information technology		

I ensure that the teacher librarian has an appropriate allocation of support 
staff and volunteers	
	
I ensure that the school library resource centre objectives reflect school goals		

I do not expect staff to involve themselves in the development of library 
resource centre policies and objectives	
	
I allocate adequate, flexible time for the teacher librarian to administer 
the library resource centre	
	
I encourage teachers and the teacher librarian to invest time planning 
collaborative teaching programs		

I would expect that staff development plans would address aspects 
of teachers’ information literacy		

I would allocate release from face to face (RFF) time to the teacher 
librarian as a last resort		

I allow the teacher librarian to negotiate a flexible timetable that best meets 
the needs of individual students, groups, and whole classes		

I inform new staff about the importance of collaborating with the teacher 
librarian		

I identify the teacher librarian as an information technology (IT) leader 
in the school	
	
I have located an Internet connection in the library resource centre	
	
I support the development of a resource collection that is current 
and relevant to the curriculum needs of the school	
	
I encourage staff debate about information policy	
	
I ensure that significant funding is allocated to the library resource 
centre budget	
	
I am on the lookout for outside school funding possibilities that can 
be used to supplement the library resource centre budget	
	
I expect that there is ease of access to the library resource centre
		
I supervise the teacher librarian		

I engage in regular and timely communication with the teacher librarian
 		
I visit the library resource centre to observe the work of the teacher 
librarian		

I encourage the teacher librarian to debate and justify current practice	
	
I do not ask questions of the teacher librarian about teaching and learning	
	
I encourage the teacher librarian to promote the meaningful use of 
information resources and IT and to provide appropriate inservicing
 to staff		

I rely on the teacher librarian to keep me abreast of developments 
that affect the role and responsibility of the teacher librarian	
	
I seek advice from the teacher librarian with respect to issues of
 information management		

I believe that it is important that principals act as role models and 
mentors to staff who are reticent about the appropriate instructional use of IT	
	
I do not encourage the teacher librarian to take risks		

I expect teachers to employ a wide range of information resources in 
their teaching programs		

I encourage the teacher librarian to take a leadership role in the  development 
and maintenance of a school wide continuum of information skills		

I work with the teacher librarian to develop his/her personal professional 
devolopment plan		

I expect teachers to incorporate the learning and use of a range of information 
skills into their teaching programs and to assess process skills and content	
	
I am pleased when I observe (or hear reports of) the teacher librarian involved 
in classroom teaching		

I provide time release, funding and encouragement to the teacher librarian to 
undertake ongoing professional devolopment		

When the teacher librarian is absent from duty I make arrangements to ensure 
that access to the library resource centre is not compromised		

I advocate that the teacher librarian be a member of key school committees to 
tap into his/her expertise and schoolwide perspective		

When the teacher librarian is not represented on a key committee I ensure that 
the needs of the library resource centre are not overlooked		

I do not believe that the teacher librarian should be supported to achieve AST 
status and appropriate executive positions		

So long as I believe that the teacher librarian is credible I am prepared to rely on 
his/her professional judgement		

I seek feedback from staff about their impressions of the quality of  library resource 
centre services		

I do not believe that I am well placed to judge the teacher librarian’s professional 
competence		

 
Principal Instrument 3

The following questions allow you to provide the researchers with additional information.


From my perspective the strengths of the library resource centre are:


From my perspective the challenges that face the library resource centre are:


The following things that the teacher librarian does are critical to the quality of 
teaching and learning:


If the library resource centre were closed for more than two weeks the form 
and quality of teaching and learning would be affected in the following ways:


If the teacher librarian were absent from school for more than two weeks 
the form and quality of teaching and learning would be affected in the following
 ways:


When the teacher librarian is absent the following arrangements ensure 
access to the library resource centre;


I see information literacy as:


I see the following as the major barriers to the integration of information 
skills across the curriculum:


I promote the role of the library resource centre through school committees 
in the following ways:


In conclusion I would like to make the following points about my role in 
developing and supporting an information literate school community:


Teacher Librarian Instrument 1: Demographics

Please provide the following data which will provide a basis for understanding 
your answers to the questionnaire. Tick or provide data as required.


1. Number of Internet connections in the library resource centre  			

2. Number of Internet access points (terminals) in the library resource centre 		

3. Your age: 	20-29 years
		30-39 years
		40-49 years
		50-59 years
		60 years and over

4. Gender:	Female
		Male

5. Your academic qualifications  								

6. Your number of years of teaching prior to appointment as a teacher librarian  		

7. Number of years in your current position  		

8. Did your current position as teacher librarian result from an advertised 
position?  	

9. Are you an Advanced Skilled Teacher (AST)?  					

10. Your number of years in Executive positions  			

11. How many Principals have you worked with since becoming a teacher 
librarian?  	

12. Your membership of professional associations (please name)
	
																																													

13. Do you subscribe to OZTL_NET?  		

14. Which Teacher Librarian journals do you read?  

																																				


Teacher Librarian lnstrument 2

To be completed by the Teacher Librarian


Part A: Perception Factors


	Present Situation			           
	How much attention does the Principal give this item?
	A Lot    Some   Little    None     Cannot Comment                                                        
	  4       3        2       1          0

	
	Future Situation
	How much more attention should the Pricipal give this item?
	A Lot    Some    Little    None    Cannot Comment
	  4       3        2        1          0

                   Perception Factors                      Present        Preferred


1. The Principal advocates and facilitates the 
development of an information literate school community.	
	
2. The Principal ensures that the attainment of
 information literacy is part of the school plan.
		
3. The Principal encourages and facilitates 
the professional development of teaching staff.
		
4. The Principal understands and advocates 
the role of the teacher librarian (as per 
ministry/system policies) in the school's instructional 
program.
	
5. The Principal demonstrates support for 
collaboration among the teacher librarian 
and teaching staff.		

6. The Principal ensures that the school library 
resource centre objectives reflect school goals.

7. The Principal ensures that the teacher librarian 
has an appropriate allocation of support staff.

8. The Principal allocates adequate, flexible time 
for the teacher librarian to administer the library 
resource centre.

9. The Principal encourages the teaching staff to 
involve themselves in the development of library 
resource centre policies and programs.

10. The Principal encourages the teaching staff to 
invest time in cooperatively planning and teaching 
with the teacher librarian.

11. The Principal encourages and facilitates the 
professional development of teaching staff to 
enhance their understanding and use of information 
technology. 

12. The Principal informs new teaching staff about the 
importance of collaborating with the teacher librarian.		

13. The Principal supports the development of a 
resource collection that is current and relevant to 
the curriculum needs of the school.

14. The Principal encourages teaching staff debate 
about information policy.
		
15. The Principal ensures that significant funding is 
allocated to the library resource centre budget.		

16. The Principal actively seeks outside school funding 
possibilities that can be used to supplement the library 
resource centre budget.
	
17. The Principal engages in regular and timely communication 
with the teacher librarian.

18. The Principal visits the library resource centre to observe
 the work of the teacher librarian.
		
19. The Principal encourages the teacher librarian to debate 
and justify current practice.
		
20. The Principal asks questions of the teacher librarian 
about teaching and learning.
		
21. The Principal relies on the teacher librarian to keep 
him/her abreast of developments that affect the teacher 
librarian's role. 	

22. The Principal seeks advice from the teacher librarian
 with respect to issues of whole school information management.		

23. The Principal encourages the teacher librarian to 
take risks.
	
24. The Principal encourages teaching staff to employ a
 wide range of information resources in their teaching programs.

25. The Principal encourages the teacher librarian to take a 
leadership role in the development and maintenance of a 
school wide information skills continuum.

26. The Principal works with the teacher librarian to develop
 the teacher librarian's personal professional development plan.
		
27. The Principal advocates that the teacher librarian be a 
member of key school committees to tap into his/her expertise 
and schoolwide perspective.

28. The Principal encourages teaching staff to incorporate the
 learning and use of a range of information skills into their teaching 
programs and to assess process skills as well as content.

29. The Principal provides time release and funding to the teacher 
librarian to undertake ongoing professional development.

30. When the teacher librarian is not represented on a key 
committee, the Principal ensures that the needs of the library 
resource centre are addressed.
		
31. The Principal seeks feedback from teaching staff about 
their impressions of the quality of library resource centre services.


Part B: Belief Factors

Please indicate the strength of your belief for each of these items.
Strongly     Agree   Disagree    Strongly    	Cannot
Agree			         Disagree      Comment
  4	      3          2          1	         0	


32. I believe that the teacher librarian should 
be a key player in the school's information literacy programs.

33. I believe that a teacher librarian ought to 
have a qualification in education and librarianship.

34. I believe teacher librarians ought to be 
appointed according to a merit selection process.

35. Should an unqualified teacher librarian 
be appointed to a school, I believe that s/he 
should undertake a specialist qualification in 
teacher librarianship.
		
36. As the teacher librarian I expect to spend 
all of my day in the library resource centre.  

37. I believe that staff development plans 
should address the development of teachers’ 
information literacy.

38. I believe that a teacher librarian should be
 timetabled to cover classroom teachers' 
release from face-to-face (RFF) time.

39. I believe the teacher librarian should be 
identified as an information technology leader 
in the school.

40. I believe that teacher librarians should provide 
a flexible timetable that best meets the needs of 
individual students, groups and whole classes.

41. I believe that Internet access should be 
available through the library resource centre. 

42. I believe that students should have individual 
access to the library resource centre during class
 time. 

43. I believe that the Principal should supervise 
the teacher librarian.

44. I believe that teacher librarians should 
provide appropriate inservicing to teaching staff.

45. I believe it is important that Principals 
act as role models and mentors to teaching 
staff who are reticent about the appropriate 
instructional use of information technology.

46. I believe that cooperative planning 
and teaching should occur in the classroom 
as well as in the library resource centre.

47. When the teacher librarian is absent, 
I believe that it is necessary to fill his/her 
position with a suitably qualified replacement.

48. I believe that teacher librarians should 
be supported to achieve Advanced Skills 
Teacher (AST) status and appropriate 
executive positions.

49. I believe that the Principal is well placed 
to judge a teacher librarian’s professional 
competence.

50. I believe that it is the teacher librarian's 
responsibility to educate the Principal about 
the role of the teacher librarian.

51. I believe that the teacher librarian should
 inform the Principal about issues affecting the 
potential of library resource centre services.

52. I believe that the position of teacher librarian 
is good preparation for the position of Principal.

53. Teacher librarians seek mentorship from 
teaching staff in addition to that provided by
 the Principal. 


Teacher Librarian Instrument 3

The following questions allow you to provide the researchers 
with additional information.


From my perspective the strengths of the library resource 
centre are:


 From my perspective the challenges that face the library 
resource centre are:


The following things that the teacher librarian does are 
critical to the quality of teaching and learning:


If the library resource centre were closed for more than two 
weeks the form and quality of teaching and learning would be 
affected in the following ways:


If the teacher librarian were absent from school for more than two 
weeks the form and quality of teaching and learning would be 
affected in the following ways:


When the teacher librarian is absent the following arrangements 
ensure access to the library resource centre:


I see information literacy as:


I see the following as the major barriers to the integration of information 
skills across the curriculum:


I promote the role of the library resource centre through school 
committees in the following ways:


I maintain my credibility as a teacher librarian in the following ways:


The principal could provide the following additional supports to me 
as teacher librarian:


In conclusion I would like to make the following points about my role in 
developing and supporting an information literate school community: