Politics, work and the lifelong learning agenda in information literacy

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• Politics, work and the lifelong learning agenda
  in information literacy

John Crawford Christine Irving
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Christine Bruce

• We need a lot more lobbying on the importance of
  IL on the political front, with industry, with
  very senior people.People need to concentrate on
  finding out who we should lobby and who should do
  the lobbying. We need people with political and
  marketing skills
• Update, Jan/Feb. 06. p. 43

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Scotland as a laboratory for research in
information literacy

• The Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland a
  peg to hang IL on http//www.scotland.gov.uk/libra
  ry5/lifelong/llsm-00.asp
• The second least socially divisive educational
  system in the world Scotsman, 25/1/06,
  http//thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id12005
  2006
• Over 50 of the eligible population continue from
  school to university, making strategies which
  link the secondary and the tertiary sectors
  feasible
• Organisation of the school system is both simple
  and uniform
• Scottish Executive e-government policy

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Influencing government policy?

• Skills, getting on in business, getting on at
  work (Great Britain. Department for Education and
  Skills 2005. vol. 1. pp.1,) emphasises the need
  for a skilled workforce but only ICT skills are
  specifically mentioned
• Consultation Review of Scottish Digital
  inclusion Policy http//www.scotland.gov.uk/Public
  ations/2005/11/04103500/35010
• Mentions only ICT skills but evidence to
  consultation submitted by SLIC Christine and me
  highlight IL

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Politics in small nations

• Small countries, small minds, petty corruption?
• Or easier access to the decision making
  process?

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Public Petitions

• Public Petitions Committee may invite
  petitioners to speak
• Any individual, group or organisation may
  petition the Parliament
• Speak to your MSP first
• A petition can ask the Public Petitions Committee
  to take a view on a matter of wide public
  interest or concern
• Or ask the Public Petitions Committee to amend
  existing legislation or introduce new legislation

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Petitions and e-government

• A petition can be hosted on the Parliament's
  website for an agreed period
• an opportunity to attract a much wider audience
  and gather more names in support of the petition
• Signatures welcomed from outside Scotland
• Each e-petition has its own discussion forum,
  where visitors and supporters can discuss and
  debate the petition
• After agreed period presented to Petitions
  Committee in usual way
• Not many comparators (Bundestag)

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An inclusive process
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What we did

• Submitted petition electronically late October
  2005
• Publicised on elists
• Attracted 710 signatures worldwide
• Wrote to the Scottish press
• Ken Mackintosh (MSP) asked questions in the
  Scottish Parliament
• Attended committee to present petition

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Outcomes

• Very favourable reaction from the profession and
  professional media otherwise zilch
• Petitions Committee wrote to the Scottish
  Executive, a range of NGOs and unions
• Other interested bodies subsequently submitted
  evidence

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And so?

• To return to the policy issue What are you going
  to do about it?

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The role of information literacy in the work
environment

• follows on a study (Crawford 2006) which
  highlighted the importance of information
  literacy in the workplace.
• interviews with people in the work situation to
  understand better the role of information
  literacy in the work place and how this varies in
  different working environments.
• subjects for interview were drawn from
• trade union learning representatives contacted
  through the Scottish Centre for Work Based
  Learning
• personal contacts.

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Areas covered

• The work they do, their experience and
  qualifications
• Skills needed for work
• Learning in the workplace
• Information Skills / Information Literacy Skills
• Knowledge Management

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Outcomes of the interviews

• general impressions so far
• to assist in the formulation of more precise
  questions to facilitate further research.

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• John Crawford jcr_at_gcal.ac.uk
• Christine Irving christine.irving_at_gcal.ac.uk
• Project website www.learningservices.gcal.ac.uk/il
  s/index.html