Social Project of Media and Information Literacy Knowledge Improvement among Academic and School Librarians in Kazakhstan

In the information age, media and information literacy (MIL) has become crucial for work and study. Despite the growing number of various projects and initiatives in the field of MIL, this area of social development is still a relatively new concept for the educational policy of Kazakhstan. The information literacy standards have been developed by the ACRL and adopted worldwide, but there is little information as to what extent the current society is MIL trained and competent. In particular, there are no compulsory educational programs on MIL in Kazakhstan. The situation is complicated by the lack of a sufficient number of high-quality educational and methodological materials in the Kazakh language. Thus, most of the teachers, librarians, and students in Kazakhstan experience a shortage of relevant knowledge and skills. This paper reports the results of the “SauattyKeleshek” social project on MIL awarded by the Nazarbayev University Social Development Fund. “SauattyKeleshek” program aimed to improve MIL knowledge, skills, and abilities among academic and school librarians in Kazakhstan. The project included educational training developed and introduced to the target group, both online and onsite. The target audience of the project was academic and school librarians of Kazakhstan. The objectives of this research paper are to identify the MIL competencies of project participants and ways to improve their MIL knowledge. In this study, researchers will answer the following questions: what are the information needs of the target audience; how does MIL training improve the MIL knowledge of participants; how does MIL training program content respond to the information needs of the learners? Specifically, researchers applied the qualitative research method by analysing the results of primary data from an online survey conducted before the training, and the MIL training program developed on the basis of the preliminary survey analysis. The study found that respondents defined the MIL term incorrectly although initially, they confirmed familiarity with the MIL concept. Also, survey results showed that no MIL seminars and training were provided to users at their home institutions. Learners admitted the usage of educational materials without proper citation and copyright. Overall 391 participants attended 24 online and 7 onsite educational trainings within the framework of the project. The MIL curriculum taught participants to:

  • manage information flows;
  • search, use, and disseminate reliable information;
  • select and organize digital content, identify necessary and high-quality online materials;
  • understand copyright issues;
  • apply critical thinking strategy.

The learners pointed out the usefulness and intensity of the training which responded to their information needs with the availability of further implementation. The effectiveness of the course is proved by the fact that participants with good results passed the final test and disclosed key MIL competencies. Participants developed and conducted various activities dedicated to the MIL concept, which demonstrate the improvement of academic and school librarians’ MIL knowledge and skills. The researchers state that the project results can be a driving force to achieve success in MIL learning and teaching in Kazakhstan.

References

  • American Library Association. (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. Retrieved January 11, 2023 from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
  • Kamilova, Y., & Yap, J. (2022). Subject librarianship in Kazakhstan: Exploring information literacy skills, functions, and practices. International Journal of Media and Information Literacy, 7(1), 132–144.
  • UNESCO. (2013). Information and communication technologies in education. Retrieved January 11, 2023 from https://iite.unesco.org/publications/3214728/

Yelizaveta Kamilova, Zhuldyz Orazymbetova
Nazarbayev University Library, Astana, Kazakhstan

en_USEnglish
Scroll to Top