The Instructional Role of the Library Media Specialist as Perceived by Elementary

School Principals

VERA ConferenceCharlottesville, VA

September 18, 2008

Dr. Audrey ChurchLongwood University

Farmville, Virginiachurchap@longwood.edu

Statement of the Problem Library media specialists are

teachers and instructional partners (AASL, 1998)

Library media specialists positively impact student achievement (Lance, Rodney, and Hamilton-Pennell, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005)

Principals are not knowledgeable regarding library media centers (Wilson and Blake, 1993)

Rationale/Significance of Study Increased emphasis on

instructional role with publication of new standards in 1998 (AASL, 1998)

Higher student test scores when library media specialist takes active role in instruction (School Libraries Work, 2006)

Principal support, as instructional leader of school, is key (Hartzell, 2002b)

Purpose of the Study Focus on elementary level Focus on instructional role Determine how elementary school

principals view teaching and instructional partnership roles

Determine origin of perceptions

Standards Library Media

Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning, 1998

NBPTS, 2001 ALA/AASL—NCATE, 2003

Educational Leadership Standards for Advanced Programs in

Educational Leadership (National Policy Board, 2002)

Role of the Principal Financial support (Campbell, 1991; Henri

and Hay, 1995) Staffing support (Oberg, 1996) Scheduling support (Hartzell, 2002b;

Oberg, 1996) Communication of importance of

program to students and teachers (Buchanan, 1982; Campbell, 1991; Hartzell, 2002c; Kolencik, 2001; Oberg, 1996)

Principals’ Perceptions Only 18% described library media

specialists’ duties as instructional in nature (Naylor and Jenkins, 1988)

Traditional view of library media specialist roles (Dorrell and Lawson, 1995)

Major role—reference, research, keeper and circulator of materials (Kolencik, 2001)

Learning and teaching rated lowest of five roles (Alexander, Smith, and Carey, 2003)

Source of Principals’ Perceptions

No discussion in teacher preparation or principal preparation programs (Buchanan, 1982; Wilson and McNeil, 1998)

Experience as teacher (Naylor and Jenkins, 1988; Hartzell, 2002a)

Experience as student (Alexander et al., 2003; Hartzell, 2002a)

Current library media specialist (Campbell, 1991; Naylor and Jenkins, 1988)

Research Questions

1. How do elementary school principals view the library media specialist as a teacher of information literacy skills?

2. How do elementary school principals view the library media specialist as an instructional partner?

Research Questions (continued)

3. What is the basis for elementary school principals’ views of the instructional role of the library media specialist?

Methodology Research Design

Non-experimental, descriptive survey research

Sampling of Subjects Target population: 1177 Virginia

elementary school principals Sampling frame: 927 available email

addresses Proportional stratified random sample

Instrumentation Survey developed based on Alexander et

al. (2003), Kolencik (2001), and McCracken (2000), using standards from field

Thirty-two questions, plus one open-ended question

Five-point Likert scale Content review Survey built using Inquisite and

administered through Virginia Commonwealth University

Data Collection IRB submission and approval Pilot study Pre-notice email Email with survey link, embedded

Informed Consent Form Follow-up, reminder email Inquisite survey responses

exported to SPSS

Survey Administration First Round:

May 11, 2007: pre-notice email to 500 June 19, 2007: survey closed; 64 responses

(14%) Second Round:

August 1, 2007: pre-notice email to 424 August 21, 2007: survey closed; 51 responses

(13%) 110 Usable responses, 13% response rate

Findings:School Characteristics All eight regions of Virginia

represented in the sample 25.5% of respondents

characterized their schools as urban; 74.5% characterized their schools as non-urban

Findings:School Characteristics Grade level configurations

PreK-5 42.2% K-5 26.6% Others: PreK-2, 3-5, K-6, K-7, PreK-6,

PreK- 7, PreK-4, 1-7 Enrollment

100-299 18.2% 300-749 72.7% 750-1499 9.1%

Findings: Principal Demographics Almost 50% had 10 or less years

teaching experience: 28% had 6-10 20% had 5 or less

Four most common areas of teaching: English, math, social sciences, 66% in

each Science, 58%

Findings:Principal Demographics Grade levels of classroom teaching

experience PreK-2 45% 3-5 67% 6-8 50% 9-12 24%

Findings:Principal Demographics Years of administrative experience

1-5 14.5% 6-10 41.9% 11-15 23.6% 16-20 10.9% 21-25 5.5% Over 25 3.6%

Research Question #1

1. How do elementary school principals view the library media specialist as a teacher of information literacy skills?

Twelve survey questions dealt with teacher role of library media specialist

Perceptions reported by frequencies

Findings: Teacher Role

Teach students to…1. Use print materials 90.9% A or SA

2. Use electronic databases 87.3% A or SA

3. Use free Web sites 81.8% A or SA

4. Locate information within sources

94.6% A or SA

5. Evaluate information 86.4% A or SA

6. Take notes and organize information

74.6% A or SA

7. Respect intellectual property 93.7% A or SA

8. Practice ethical behavior 91.9% A or SA

Findings: Teacher Role

Library media specialists should…9. Have access to standardized test data

80.0% A or SA

10. Use test data to develop information literacy instruction

82.8% A or SA

11. Provide staff development in areas such as effective Web searching and database use

86.4% A or SA

12. Provide staff development in areas such as intellectual property and copyright

86.3% A or SA

Summary Thoughts Principals responding to the survey

endorsed the instructional role of the library media specialist as teacher of information literacy skills.

Areas of “less agreement”: Teaching students to use free Web sites (81.8%) Teaching students to take notes and organize

information (74.6%) Access to standardized test data (80%) Use of standardized test data for instruction

(82.8%)

Research Question #2

2. How do elementary school principals view the library media specialist as an instructional partner?

Eight survey questions dealt with instructional partner role of library media specialist

Perceptions reported by frequencies

Findings: Instructional Partner Role

Collaborate with…1. Teachers to teach information literacy skills in context of content curriculum

91.2% A or SA

2. Individual teachers to plan lessons to integrate information literacy skills into curriculum

85.4% A or SA

3. Teachers at grade levels to plan lessons to integrate information literacy skills into curriculum

91.8% A or SA

Findings: Instructional Partner Role

Collaborate with…4. Teachers to teach lessons which integrate information literacy skills in context of content curriculum

89.1% A or SA

5. Teachers to evaluate work from lessons

73.6% A or SA

6. Play active role in school improvement process

94.5% A or SA

Findings: Instructional Partner Role

Primary initiator of teacher-library media specialist collaboration at…

Individual teacher level?

School level?

Administrator? 11.8% 38.2%

Library media specialist?

67.3% 57.3%

Teacher? 20.0% 2.7%

No response? 0.9% 1.8%

Summary Thoughts Principals responding to the survey endorsed

the instructional role of the library media specialist as instructional partner.

Areas to note: 91.8% of principals endorsed collaborating at grade

levels; 85.4% endorsed collaborating with individual teachers

Just 73.6% felt that library media specialists should evaluate student work

Primary initiator at teacher level—67.3% LMS; 11.8% administrator

Primary initiator at school level—57.3% LMS; 38.2% administrator

Research Question #3

3. What is the basis for elementary school principals’ views of the instructional role of the library media specialist?

Origin of perceptions reported by frequencies

Responses to open-ended question for critical incidents examined by content analysis

Primary Source of Knowledge of Instructional Role of Library Media Specialist

Coursework in principal preparation programs

1.8%

Interactions with LMS during teaching career

26.4%

Interactions with LMS during administrative career

65.5%

Readings from professional journals

2.7%

Other 2.7%

No response 0.9%

Follow-Up Question Did you receive any sort of formal

training related to library media specialists in your principal preparation program? No 90.9% Yes 9.1% (n=10)

5 topic of discussion in several courses; 3 topic of discussion in one course; 1 entire course in school library media; 1 master’s was in library media

Open-Ended Question “Think back to a situation or incident which

you have had with a library media specialist which helped to form your view of the role of the library media specialist in the school. The incident could be a positive one, or it could be a negative one. Please describe the incident.”

83 of the 110 respondents (75%) answered the open-ended question

Perceptions are formed based on both negative and positive interactions

Negative Responses Information/content

Library media specialists’ lack of current technological skills

“librarian runs an organized library where students check out books and are read to…We are waiting for her to retire (next year) so that we can get someone who is truly a media specialist”

Library media specialists who do not see the need to teach research or information skills

“in my experience in this school division, LMS professionals do not initiate quality lessons with children, but merely manage circulation of the library”

Negative Responses Relational/attitude

Lack of proactivity “too shy to bring the library to life…waits for me to

say order things…teachers complain about not having enough books on high and low levels”

Interpersonal skills/environment “My current librarian is retiring and the entire school

community is happy to see her go…she gives the impression that she just does not like children. She did not work well with other teachers.”

“The library should not be a place of hoops to jump through—it should be a welcoming place.”

Positive Responses Relational/attitude

“eager to collaborate with classroom teachers in planning instructional programs for students”

“library was fun place for kids to go and they learned to be independent in the library by the librarian and teachers working together”

“She first made the media center welcoming to students and staff; she encouraged teachers to use her and the media center as a resource by initiating collaboration with a teacher in each department.”

Positive Responses Information/content—Five categories1. Connections to SOL

“asked to meet with all the teachers to coordinate what she did to go along with the SOL they were teaching in the classroom”

2. Use of curriculum/pacing guides “uses the SOL data and our pacing guide to

help guide her lessons as well as to offer support to the teachers for their instructional planning”

Positive Responses Information/content—Five categories3. Attention to standardized test scores

“library media specialist wanted to review the SOL scores in order to enhance the instructional program for the students”

4. Teaching research skills “collaborated with classroom teachers to develop

research skills for students…met with teachers the week before for planning and together they developed the media lesson that was supportive of the classroom instruction…students understood the connection that the media center was an extension of learning. It was not an isolated place we go with no connection to the live learning of the classroom.”

Positive Responses Information/content—Five

categories5. Staff development in the area of

information resources “presented excellent information to

our PTA and staff about using online databases and why they are more reliable than search engines such as Google or Yahoo”

Expectations for Library Media Specialists Expectations for instructional role of library

media specialist based on strong library media specialist with whom they worked: “In my first job as a teacher, I probably had the

chance to work with the best librarian I have seen…I judge all librarians by her.”

“I worked with a wonderful media specialist. She used lesson plans that coordinated with the grade level standard course of study and integrated regular classroom curriculum into the library experience…she has been the ruler by which I measure other media specialists.”

Summary Thoughts Principals learn about the instructional

role of the library media specialist from library media specialists with whom they work, as principals and as teachers.

Perceptions are formed based on both negative and positive interactions.

Expectations of current and future library media specialists are based on these prior experiences and interactions.

Delimitations and Limitations

Delimitations Elementary schools in Virginia Web-based survey

Limitations Self-reported perceptions Low response rate Non-response bias

Implications for Current Practice

University educational leadership preparation programs

University school library media preparation programs

Professional development Conference sessions Responsibility on practitioners Need for public relations,

marketing, and advocacy

Recommendations for Further Research

Replicate study in other states or at national level

Conduct additional study of elementary principals’ actions

Conduct similar study with secondary principals

Works Cited Alexander, L. B., Smith, R. C., & Carey, J. O. (2003). Education reform

and the school library media specialist. Knowledge Quest, 32(2), 10-13. American Association of School Librarians. (1998). Information power:

Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Library Association.

American Library Association. (2003). ALA/AASL standards for initial programs of school library media specialist preparation. Retrieved September 17, 2006, from http://www.ncate.org/documents/ProgramStandards/ala%202001.pdf

Buchanan, W. (1982). The principal and role expectations of the library media specialist. The Clearing House, 55(6), 253-255.

Campbell, J.M. (1991). Principal-school library media relations as perceived by selected North Carolina elementary principals and school library media specialists. Dissertation Abstracts International 52 (07A), 2336. (UMI No. 9135211)

Dorrell, L. D., & Lawson, V. L. (1995). What are principals’ perceptions of the school library media specialist? NASSP Bulletin, 79(2), 72-80.

Works Cited Hartzell, G. (2002a). The principal’s perceptions of school libraries

and teacher-librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, 8(1), 92-110. Hartzell, G. (2002b). White House conference on school libraries:

What’s it take? Retrieved April 2, 2005, from http://www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602/garyhartzell.htm

Hartzell, G. (2002c). Why should principals support school libraries? ERIC Digest. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED470034).

Henri, J., & Hay, L. (1995). Teacher-librarians must be principally minded. School libraries in Canada, 15(4), 20-21.

Kolencik, P. L. (2001). Principals and teacher-librarians: Building collaborative partnerships in the learning community. Dissertation Abstracts International 62 (05A), 1784. (UMI No. 3013296)

Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (2000). How school librarians help kids achieve standards: The second Colorado study. San Jose, CA: HiWillow.

Works Cited Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (2001). Good schools

have school librarians: Oregon school librarians collaborate to improve academic achievement. Terrebonne, OR: Oregon Educational Media Association.

Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (2002). How school libraries improve outcomes for children: The New Mexico study. Salt Lake City: HiWillow.

Lance, K. C., Rodney, M. J., & Hamilton-Pennell, C. (2005). Powerful libraries make powerful learners: The Illinois study. Canton, IL: Illinois School Library Media Association.

McCracken, A. (2000). Perceptions of school library media specialists regarding their roles and practices. Dissertation Abstracts International 61(04A), 1369. (UMI No. 9968476)

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2001). NBPTS library media standards. Retrieved September 17, 2006, from http://www.nbpts.org/the_standards/standards_by_cert?ID=19&x=56&y=5

Works Cited National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2002). Standards

for advanced programs in educational leadership. Retrieved October 24, 2006, from http://www.npbea.org/ELCC/ELCCStandards%20_5-02.pdf

Naylor, A. P., & Jenkins, K. D. (1988). An investigation of principals’ perceptions of library media specialists’ performance evaluation technology. School Library Media Quarterly, 16(3), 234-243.

Oberg, D. (1996). Principal support—what does it mean to teacher-librarians? Worcester, England: Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED400851)

Wilson, P. J., & Blake, M. (1993). The missing piece: A school library media center component in principal-preparation programs. Record in Educational Leadership, 12(2), 65-68.

Wilson, P. P., & MacNeil, A. J. (1998). In the dark: What’s keeping principals from understanding libraries? School Library Journal, 44(9), 114-116.

For more information, contact…

Dr. Audrey ChurchAssistant Professor and Coordinator

School Library Media ProgramLongwood UniversityFarmville, VA 23909

434-395-2682churchap@longwood.edu

Full dissertation is available through VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library at

http://etd.vcu.edu/theses/available/etd-01182008-191312/