1.
The beating
heart
of the school?
Teacher & librarian perspectives
on the school library

2.
Three-Year
TLRI
project
Who are we?

3.
Purpose
of the
Research

4.
Purpose
of the
Research
Question:
“Why, if we know
the school library is an
essential part of
student learning, is
the library so
undervalued?”

5.
Purpose
of the
Research
Hypothesis:
Possibility that teachers and
librarians have fundamentally
different beliefs and attitudes about
the role of the library and the work
of the librarians,
andthat these attitudes and
beliefs may be undermining the
potential of library services
in schools to impact on
student learning

6.
Theory
Context:
Literature
 The value of school libraries
 Attitudes and beliefs

7.
Theory
Literature
Review:
 The value of the library
to student learning
 The current value and
resourcing of libraries in schools
 Literature of attitudes and
beliefs

8.
Methodolog
y
& Tools
Qualitative Data
 Two nationwide surveys –
one for teachers and
one for librarians
 To establish comprehensive
view of how school libraries
and library services are
understood
73School Librarians 69 Teachers

9.
Open-ended
Questions -
Librarians
1. Thinking about how you work
with teachers at your school,
what are the things that
currently work well, and what
factors support these
successes?
2. Thinking about how you work
with teachers at your school,
what are areas for
improvement, and what
barriers make it harder to
make those improvements?

10.
Data
identificatio
n
Themes:
 Attitudes
 Beliefs
 Identity
 Time pressures
 Resourcing
 Integration/collaboration
 Support from management
 Communication
 Institutional policy

11.
Findings
Success Factors
Librarians
 Communication
 Building relationships

12.
Success Factors
Teachers
 Resources
 Librarian attitude
Findings

13.
Findings
Librarian survey % Teacher survey %
Resources 16.5 44
Teacher attitudes 15
Librarian attitudes 29 43.5
Time 4
Collaboration/integration 20 6
Senior management engagement
whole of institution policy
8.5 12
Teacher beliefs 2.5
Librarian identity 22
Communication/Relationships 44.5
Things that work well and factors supporting success

14.
Barriers to success
Multi-factorial
Disconnect between
understanding of the role of
the librarian
Resourcing understood
differently
Findings

15.
Findings
Librarian survey % Teacher survey %
Resources 35 62
Teacher attitudes 27 7
Librarian attitudes 4.5
Time 35 10.5
Collaboration/integration 26 10.5
Senior management engagement
whole of institution policy
30 12
Teacher beliefs 19
Librarian identity 30
Communication/Relationships 42.5
Areas for improvement and barriers

16.
Findings
We were surprised
by just how
differently the
teachers & librarians
viewed
the library

17.
Teacher
Perceptions
Analysis

18.
Librarian
Perceptions
Analysis

19.
Analysis
Librarian
Perceptions
Teacher
Perceptions

20.
Does it
matter?
Different
beliefs
and attitudes
of teachers &
librarians

21.
Teacher
Quote
“Working with our library staff
enabled students to access a wide
range of information in our library
I never even knew existed.
Not only (the) resources and texts we had
on site but also external, digital
sources of information.”

22.
Conclusion
s
Attitudes &
beliefs
Significant drivers of practice and
hard to shiftStaffing
Inconsistent approach
Librarian – qualified or not
Teacher – no library qualification
Volunteers
Funding
Operations Grant

23.
Recommendation
s
Attitudes & Beliefs
How to change
them?
 Consistent staffing approach
 Tagged library funding
 School library qualifications

24.
Reflections
Engagement
Would’ve liked a bigger sample from
teachers and particularly principals
Whole school IL
Poor response from principals and
senior leaders - unable to capture
meaningful data
Cry of librarians
Desperate to become the
heart of the school

25.
Reflections
Of an Emerging
Researcher ….
Need to be a reflective practitioner
Acknowledge your own strengths
and weakness
Ask questions –
especially the “why” and “how” ones
Large team –
pluses & minuses

26.
Follow our
progress
Website
Informationliteracyspaces.wordpress.com
Twitter
@il_spaces
Facebook
Information Literacy Spaces