and
Lyn Hay
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.
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
What do you understand to be the role of the TL in this?
What do you do to enable the development of an information literate school community?
To what extent do you support the introduction and use of information technology?
How important is the school library to a program that fosters information literacy?
Did you have something to do with the appointment of your TL?
How important is the TL in the school?
How do you support the TL?
What are the major barriers to the development of an information literate school community? How do you address these?
What critical experience(s) have shaped your understanding and beliefs about effective school library programs?
Areas for Discussion: Teacher Librarians
What is the attitude of the principal with respect to:
What does s/he do to turn these attitudes into a powerful influence?
What are the major barriers to success? How is the principal addressing these?
What strategies do you use when seeking support from your principal?
How do you disseminate information that might enable the principal to facilitate support for the library program and you as TL?
What critical event has provided you with a clear understanding of the role of the TL in the school?
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:
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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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.
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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: