The Context- Before Getting Started on My Inquiry
For the past 17 years of my teaching career, I have seen teacher-librarian positions steadily decline and in some districts, completely erode. Now as a new teacher-librarian and a member of our local Teacher-Librarian Association I have learned how critical it is to advocate for the importance of employing full time teacher-librarians and creating and maintaining school libraries that meet the needs of 21st century learners. We need to have a clear picture of the research related to the impact that teacher-librarians and school libraries have on achievement but we also need to be able to communicate this to the decision-makers (Haycock, 1998; Oberg, 2002).
"Children's library, Kawerau" by People's Network is licensed under CC BY 2.0
One of my goals this year is to develop an advocacy plan to bring more awareness to this important topic in our district. As part of the plan I would like to conduct a presentation to the Ed Directions Committee; this is a committee that consists of four trustees, teacher representatives for elementary, middle and high school, the president of our union, and two Assistant Superintendents. The preparation for this has led me to explore how teacher-librarians and school libraries impact achievement.
This website has been designed to give you some insight into my inquiry. I have shared my inquiry question, the process by which I searched for information, the resources that I collected and new lines of inquiry that stemmed from my learning. Another important part of inquiry is the reflection; this is included on the last page of the site.
My Inquiry Question:
How do teacher-librarians and school libraries impact student achievement and what implications does this have for my practices as a teacher-librarian?
References
Oberg, D. (2002). Looking for the evidence: Do school libraries improve student achievement? School Libraries in Canada, 22(2), 10-13. Retrieved from http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/docview/222527406?accountid=14474
Haycock, K. (1998). Information power: Because student achievement is the bottom line. Emergency Librarian, 25(4), 7. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ehost/detail/detail?sid=a098c847-8718-4973-96a5-b65aef660ba4%40sessionmgr4003&vid=11&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=437456&db=lls