Wednesday, April 30, 2008
[IWS] UNESCO: TOWARDS INFORMATION LITERACY INDICATORS [29 April 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Towards Information Literacy Indicators [29 April 2008]
Conceptual framework paper prepared by
Ralph Catts and Jesus Lau
With a list of potential international indicators for information supply, access and supporting skills
http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/cscl/InfoLit.pdf
[full-text, 46 pages]
Press Release 29 April 2008
A comprehensive perspective on what information literacy means and how to measure its impact on society.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=7189_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
Governments and international organizations are looking for ways to measure the information society. Despite the good intentions, there is a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the technology involved. Yet, the real interest lies in monitoring the impact of these technologies not simply access to them.
In response, the UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) are working closely to develop a comprehensive framework to measure the impact of knowledge societies from the perspective of people and priorities of governments.
The proposed framework is presented in a new booklet, entitled Towards Information Literacy Indicators. It begins by defining information literacy before exploring its implications, specifically from a measurement perspective.
Information literacy refers to an integrated set of skills which adults need to be effective in all aspects of their lives. It entails people's capacities to:
recognise their information needs;
locate and evaluate the quality of information;
store and retrieve information;
make effective and ethical use of information, and
apply information to create and communicate knowledge.
The UIS is actively involved in developing new indicators to measure these skills. The new framework draws upon this work and focuses specifically on the innovative methodology of the UIS Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP), which is currently being pilot-tested in several countries. It also incorporates elements from the UIS press and broadcast surveys, which explore the availability of public information on health and education issues.
The UIS has also developed a core set of indicators that are the subject of discussion by diverse international and regional organizations. The aim is to develop internationally comparable statistics which accurately reflect the impact of technology and information on people's lives. To what extent, for example, do they have access to information which they can use to improve their educational, financial and health situations?
Table of content
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Information Literacy A Defi nition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
The Elements of Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Information Literacy Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Economics and Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
The Information / Knowledge Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Information Literacy Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Information Literacy and Adult Competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Information Literacy Indicators in Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Information Literacy and Oral Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Ethics and Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Information Literacy and Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Options for Developing IL Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Existing Sources of Information Literacy Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Content Validity of Indicators of IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Criteria for IL for Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Concerns with benchmarking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Deciding Levels of IL Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Appendix 1 - Information Literacy Indicators
located within the LAMP Household Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Appendix 2 - Examples of Information Literacy Indicators
in the PISA School Assessment and DHS Household survey . . .32
Appendix 3 - International indicators for information literacy . . . .33
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Towards Information Literacy Indicators [29 April 2008]
Conceptual framework paper prepared by
Ralph Catts and Jesus Lau
With a list of potential international indicators for information supply, access and supporting skills
http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/cscl/InfoLit.pdf
[full-text, 46 pages]
Press Release 29 April 2008
A comprehensive perspective on what information literacy means and how to measure its impact on society.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=7189_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
Governments and international organizations are looking for ways to measure the information society. Despite the good intentions, there is a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the technology involved. Yet, the real interest lies in monitoring the impact of these technologies not simply access to them.
In response, the UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) are working closely to develop a comprehensive framework to measure the impact of knowledge societies from the perspective of people and priorities of governments.
The proposed framework is presented in a new booklet, entitled Towards Information Literacy Indicators. It begins by defining information literacy before exploring its implications, specifically from a measurement perspective.
Information literacy refers to an integrated set of skills which adults need to be effective in all aspects of their lives. It entails people's capacities to:
recognise their information needs;
locate and evaluate the quality of information;
store and retrieve information;
make effective and ethical use of information, and
apply information to create and communicate knowledge.
The UIS is actively involved in developing new indicators to measure these skills. The new framework draws upon this work and focuses specifically on the innovative methodology of the UIS Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP), which is currently being pilot-tested in several countries. It also incorporates elements from the UIS press and broadcast surveys, which explore the availability of public information on health and education issues.
The UIS has also developed a core set of indicators that are the subject of discussion by diverse international and regional organizations. The aim is to develop internationally comparable statistics which accurately reflect the impact of technology and information on people's lives. To what extent, for example, do they have access to information which they can use to improve their educational, financial and health situations?
Table of content
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Information Literacy A Defi nition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
The Elements of Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Information Literacy Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Economics and Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
The Information / Knowledge Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Information Literacy Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Information Literacy and Adult Competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Information Literacy Indicators in Higher Education . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Information Literacy and Oral Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Ethics and Information Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Information Literacy and Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Options for Developing IL Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Existing Sources of Information Literacy Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Content Validity of Indicators of IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Criteria for IL for Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Concerns with benchmarking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Deciding Levels of IL Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Appendix 1 - Information Literacy Indicators
located within the LAMP Household Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Appendix 2 - Examples of Information Literacy Indicators
in the PISA School Assessment and DHS Household survey . . .32
Appendix 3 - International indicators for information literacy . . . .33
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 5:08 PM
