The evaluation process of school libraries, developed by the Portuguese School Libraries Network (RBE), has been carried out through the application of a self-evaluation model (MABE). This evaluation seeks to establish a relationship between processes, the impact or value they generate, and the prospects for future development (Bastos, Martins & Conde, 2011). The model contemplates four domains, which constitute parts of analysis and evaluation in harmony with the main axes of work of the school library (SL). The instrument used by teacher librarians (TL) is based on a set of elements, including the collection of data through questionnaires applied to students of different schooling levels.
Therefore, in the framework of an agreement between Universidade Aberta with the RBE for research purposes, we examine the responses obtained through the surveys carried out in that context, to students from the Portuguese districts of Évora, Leiria, Setúbal and Vila Real, in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The analysis is focused on activities related to MIL, considering that primarily it concerns with competencies and skills, but can also be devised as the basis for a democratic society in which all citizens can participate (Haider and Sundin, 2022, p. 15). According to the orientations published by RBE (2017), students need to critically engage with media and information, namely in digital settings, and it is of the utmost importance to identify how students evaluate SL’s action and to realize whether the SL is achieving its goals in this area.
This study is based on a mixed methods approach and crosses the four regions (representative of different geographic and social contexts) and the three indicated time periods, verifying the incidences and contrasts in the dimensions studied in the observed universe. We want to understand how students face the contributions of the school library in the development of their skills in information and media literacy by means of a statistical analysis of the answers given to MABE surveys. These data are crossed with the Improvement Reports, from 2016 and 2018, in particular the strengths and weaknesses pointed out by the TLs. From this analysis it is possible to identify what has been the role of SL in the development of MIL skills, as well as the constraints and improvements in the action of libraries during this period of time. Being widely considered that MIL is the answer to today’s information crisis and that schools have an important role to play in this context, we think that SLs are right at the center of this process. This study is particularly relevant as it analyzes unpublished data collected by RBE, especially considering that the SL evaluation model has become an instrument to guide good practices, monitoring and evaluating the different intervention areas, certifying processes and results, and informing decision-making.
References
- Bastos, G., Martins, R., & Conde, E. (2011). A self-evaluation model for school libraries in Portugal. In L. Marquardt & D. Oberg (Eds.), Global Perspectives on School Libraries: Projects and Practices (pp. 11–21). Berlin: De Gruyter Saur.
- Haider, J., & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of media and information literacy: the crisis of information. New York: Routledge.
- RBE. (2017). Aprender com a biblioteca escolar. Lisboa: Rede de Bibliotecas Escolares.
Glória Bastos1, Ana Novo2
1Universidade Aberta, LEAD, Portugal; 2Universidade Aberta, CIDEHUS- UÉ, Portugal
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