Locating Categories and Sources of Information: How Skilled Are New Zealand Children?.

Abstract

The ability of New Zealand students to locate information using library structures and systems was measured through the standardization of six new Information Skills tests on students (N=5,400) in years 5 through 8. The paper and pencil tests are based on an information problem-solving perspective of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework Essential Skills. The tests focus on a formative exploration of students' understanding of the information skills involved in using library-related resources, specifically libraries, parts of a book, and reference sources. Girls, students in higher socio-economic schools, and students in higher year levels outperform their counterparts, though the literacy level of students is not controlled. The strengths and weaknesses of students are identified for each test. There is strong evidence from all six tests that students experience difficulty with sorting through the various dimensions of a search task in order to select an appropriate category (Dreher and Guthrie 1990), specifically the volume, page, or library section that the required information will be in.

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