The Scottish Information Literacy Project: working with partners to create an information literate Scotland
The initial focus of the Project was to link secondary and tertiary education and develop an information literacy framework with secondary and tertiary partners which, at the end of the project, could be rolled out to other participants. The aim - to produce secondary school leavers with a skill set which further and higher education can recognise and develop or which can be applied to the world of work directly.
Work on a National Information Literacy Framework (Scotland) is ongoing but it has been expanded to include the primary school sector and lifelong learning.
Engagement with the information literacy agenda also pointed up the need for advocacy for information literacy in order that government and NGOs can better understand the issue and also to promote the importance of information literacy in the employability and workplace agendas. The importance of information literacy as a civil right for the wider community has also come to the fore. The project has therefore expanded to include the following:
- Advocacy on behalf of information literacy for education and wider community
- Working with information literacy champions both UK and worldwide
- Researching and promoting information literacy in the workplace
- Identifying and working with partners, both in education and the wider community
- Researching the role of information literacy in continuing professional development
- to develop an information literacy framework, with cross-sector partners linking primary, secondary and tertiary education to lifelong learning including workplace and adult literacies agendas.
Aims
- Generally – to promote the understanding and development of information literacy in all education sectors, in the workplace, the home and the wider community primarily in Scotland but also elsewhere
- To attract and work with partners in secondary and tertiary education, the world of work and the wider community
- To work primarily within the Scottish educational system but also to work with interested parties UK wide and abroad
- To work with relevant non governmental agencies such as Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, Scottish Qualifications Authority, Skills Development Scotland, and professional bodies such as CILIP, SCURL, SCONUL
- To contribute to Glasgow Caledonian University’s (GCU) employability and development agenda and contribute to the development of GCU’s IT training strategy into an integrated strategy which combines IT and information literacy training
- To research the role and importance of information literacy in the workplace both in the public and corporate sectors and work with partners in these areas
- To research the role and importance of information literacy in continuing professional development (CPD)
- To engage in information literacy advocacy through all available channels and opportunities such as the Scottish Parliament and Executive, relevant NGO’s and the educational and information media
- To develop links with agencies in other countries undertaking information literacy advocacy
- To identify barriers and constraints on the development of information literacy policies in Scotland and elsewhere
Project Timescale
October 2004 - March 2010
The project has closed at Glasgow Caledonian University John and Christine would like to thank the project partners, interested parties and colleagues at Glasgow Caledonian University for their time, support and expertise. We are continuing to be involved in information literacy activities and advocacy and be contacted at scotinfolit@googlemail.com
Christine Irving & John Crawford
April 2010