FACTORS AFFECTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFORMATION LITERACY EDUCATION IN MALAYSIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS BY SAIDATUL AKMAR ISMAIL A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2014 Abstract Information literacy (IL) is one of the 21st century survival skills. The concept of IL has spread widely, and IL programmes have appeared in many countries in formal settings such as schools and higher education institutions, workplaces, and community and continuing education programmes. Information literacy education (ILE) in Malaysia is officially integrated into the school curriculum. Though the Malaysian government claims that IL has been implemented in the country’s education system, anecdotal evidence suggests that the extent of ILE is uneven across schools.Thus, the goal of this qualitative study has been to identify the factors affecting the implementation of ILE in Malaysian primary schools and to explore how these factors are facilitating or hindering the process. The first stage in the research was to develop a preliminary model based on three theories: Hall and Hord’s Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), Chen’s Action Model and Fullan’s Theory of Educational Change. CBAM provided a guide to identify the stages of implementation and factors that could affect ILE implementation within schools. The other two theories were used to identify and understand potential factors internal and external to the school ecology. Also incorporated into the model were other factors identified from the literature, such as teachers’ lack of time and resources. The interpretive paradigm was chosen in order to produce deep insights into the research problem. To explore how ILE was being implemented and to identify factors that were facilitating or hindering its implementation, case studies were conducted involving four primary schools of different types in Malaysia. Documentary evidence was gathered and semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff in these schools and with key stakeholders in education administration. Analysis of the transcripts of the interviews showed that the development and progress of ILE implementation is slower than might be expected. Hence, a range of factors hindering and facilitating ILE implementation have been 2 identified. Most interviewees had positive attitudes towards ILE. They believed that ILE was important and had the potential to make teaching and learning activities more engaging and fun. The interviewees however also reported that there were problems in implementing ILE. These problems were associated with individual, organisational, social and cultural factors. It was also noted that there were different priorities accorded to ILE implementation in the case study schools. This was related to the different linguistic settings. Findings from this study are significant to reorient the education and training system in the country so that students are able to develop the knowledge, skills and expertise essential to fully participate in today’s digital environment. Findings also provide insight into ILE implementation in different social and cultural contexts, so contribute new perspectives to existing, Western dominated theory. Keywords: information literacy education, implementation, national schools, teachers, library and media teacher, primary schools, key informants, education administration 3 Acknowledgements All praises be to Almighty Allah, Lord of the Universe and peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, the Prophet. In the completion of this thesis, it would be most appropriate to acknowledge my gratitude to my two supervisors, Dr. Dan Dorner and Dr. Gillian Oliver for their advice, continuous support, guidance and most importantly their patience throughout the completion of this thesis. Thank you for keeping me focused and on track throughout these years. Deep appreciation is also expressed to Dr. Val Hooper and Dr. Brian Harmer for their advice, encouragement and hope. I want to extend my appreciation to the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia for the scholarship award to finance my study, support from my employer, MARA University of Technology and Prof Dr. Adnan Jamaluddin for the chance of a lifetime. My gratitude is also extended to the academic, administrative and library staff of VUW, particularly those at the School of Information Management for valuable discussions during the thesis defence, ethics approval process and other assistance throughout this journey. I would like to express my appreciation to the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department, Educational Planning and Research Division as well as School Division of the Ministry of Education for their approval of the study to be conducted in the selected schools and government agencies. I also take this opportunity to graciously thank the principals of all schools involved in the study and, most importantly, their teachers and LMTs for generously parting with their precious time to respond to the interviews. I also want to thank the Educational Technology Division of the Ministry of Education, the Perak State Educational Technology Division and Teachers’ Activity Centre for participating in this study. Without their support, this study would not have materialized. 4 I would like to acknowledge my utmost gratitude to my husband, Shukran, my son, Uwais, my mum, Azizah and my dad, Ismail who were on many occasions deprived of my fullest attention due to my persistence to see this thesis done. I also want to thank my sisters and brothers for their prayers… Thank you for always being there for me… my sources of inspiration and strength… This thesis is our “book of life” filled with our blood, sweat and tears… Finally, my warm thank you to my colleagues who supported me during my tough times, Nishanie, Kak Anah, Bell, Su, Kak Shidah, Siti, Sya, Namali, Van, Kak Zah and Linda… and to the rest who had made my life more meaningful in Wellington… Ehara taku toa, he taki tahi, he toa taki tini My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was not an individual success but success of a collective… Saidatul Akmar Ismail 5 Table of Content Abstract……. ...................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 1 Introduction ............................................................................... 12 1.1 Chapter Overview .......................................................................... 12 1.2 Background to the research ........................................................... 12 1.3 Research Problem, Questions and Objectives ............................... 16 1.3.1 Problem Statement ......................................................................... 16 1.3.2 Research Questions ........................................................................ 17 1.3.3 Objectives of Research .................................................................. 17 1.4 Definition and Description of Terms ............................................. 18 1.4.1 Information Literacy (IL) .............................................................. 18 1.4.2 Information Literacy Education (ILE) ........................................... 18 1.4.3 Implementation .............................................................................. 19 1.4.4 Implementer ................................................................................... 19 1.4.5 Primary school ............................................................................... 19 1.4.6 Head teacher .................................................................................. 20 1.4.7 Teacher .......................................................................................... 20 1.4.8 Library and Media Teacher (LMT) ............................................... 20 1.4.9 School resource centre (SRC) ........................................................ 21 1.4.10 IL guidelines .................................................................................. 21 1.5 Theoretical Framework .................................................................. 21 1.6 Methodology .................................................................................. 21 1.7 Scope of the Research .................................................................... 22 1.8 Delimitations and Limitations of the Research ............................. 22 1.9 Outline of the Thesis ...................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review ...................................................................... 25 2.1 Introduction.................................................................................... 25 2.2 Definitions, Descriptions and Development of Literacy ............... 26 2.3 Information Literacy (IL) .............................................................. 27 2.3.1 Defining IL .................................................................................... 28 2.3.2 The Value of IL ............................................................................. 30 2.3.3 IL Initiatives and Implementation ................................................ 31 2.3.4 IL and Education............................................................................ 35 2.4 Educational Change ......................................................................