How might a teacher librarian make his/her priorities both clear and palatable to the school community?
Research into the
effectiveness of teacher librarians and school libraries ability to
increase student learning is quite extensive. The problem is this
information is not getting across to those in charge of school
administration and the decision makers. Unfortunately teacher
librarians have been offering little evidence beyond unsystematic
and anecdotal accounts of the impacts and benefits in terms of
student learning. Consequently the teacher librarian's priorities are
not always clear and palatable to the school community.
Teacher
librarians
who
were interviewed for the School Libraries 21C forum stated
that libraries 'had a definite
impact on student learning, even though in most cases the specifics
of this relationship were not articulated, this raises a fundamental
concern about the invisibility of outcomes, perhaps contributing to a
wider educational perspective that school libraries do not contribute
significantly to student learning outcomes.' (Hay
& Todd, 2010, p.33).
'while advocacy for school libraries at the local level is an important aspect, this advocacy has to be accompanied by demonstrable actions and evidences which give substance and power to advocacy.' (Hay & Todd, 2010, p.37).
The
standards for professional
excellence for teacher librarians (2004) state that
'excellent teacher librarians evaluate student learning and library
services to inform professional practice' (standard 2.4). This is
further explained to include monitoring teaching practice to ensure
improved learning and teaching, evaluating progress in information
literacy, measuring library resources and programs against current
standards and to be able to provide evidence on programs and
services. This all comes down to the teacher librarian being able to
be accountable for the decisions made by the teacher librarian on
spending, programs and services provided.
'Move away from advocating the value of school libraries and start documenting tangible outcomes.' (Todd, 2003)
An
effective way to make the teacher librarians priorities clear is to
document; prepare annual reports and budget proposals. The
purpose of the annual report is to document the impact of any
library changes,
identify areas of development and acknowledge assistance and
donations (National
Library of New Zealand).
An
annual report can make current
and future goals of the library clear. Through use of evidence it can
demonstrate how the library is working towards
the
vision of
the school. Annual reports show financial management, the development
of the collection, support for literacy and support
for inquiring
learning. Aside
from annual reports priorities of the library may be presented in
library newsletters or blogs. This informs the community on what is
happening in the library and why.
Writing
formal selection criteria for acquisition of resources will
demonstrate that spending is not ad hoc. If spending is shown to be
on target and purposeful then
library
priorities
in this area will be more palatable for school administration.
To
make any plea for funding or to justify the role of the teacher
librarian it is important to be able to show evidence. Evidence may
be collected directly or indirectly on three different levels;
learner,
teacher, and
organisational.
The use of achievement tests scores, student reflections, evaluation
forms, checklists, and
library
output statistics all help to build a profile of the success or
weakness of the library. The
use of research findings , from others or generated by the school
library, helps to advocate for improved support of school libraries
and priorities chosen (Oberg, 2002). Research done closer to home is
more likely to be considered by decision-makers.
These
are just some of the approaches that Teacher librarians should adopt
in order to make their priorities clear and palatable.
References:
Australian
Library and Information Association (ALIA) & Australian School
Library Association (ASLA). (2004).Standards
of professional excellence for teacher librarians, Retrieve
from: http://www.alia.org.au/policies/TLstandards.pdf
Hay,
L., & Todd, R. (2010). School libraries 21C: the conversation
begins, Scan
29(1)
30-41
Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2004-2010), The school library media specialist: Accountability, eduScapes
Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2004-2010), The
school library media specialist: Evidence-based decision-making,
eduScapes
National
Library of New Zealand Services to Schools,
Annual Report, Retrieved (March 2013):
Oberg,
D. (2002). Looking for the evidence: Do school libraries improve
student achievement? School
Libraries in Canada,
22 (2) 10-13
Todd,
R.J. (2003).Irrefutable
evidence: How to prove you boost student achievement,
School
Library Journal.
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