Preparation of School Library Media Specialists in the United States
Recruiting and preparing the next generation of school library media specialists (SLMSs) is a growing concern nationwide. School library media preparation programs are critical to meeting the current shortage of SLMSs in the United States. To determine the status of professional preparation programs for SLMSs, surveys were sent to forty-eight American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library education programs and 155 programs that prepare SLMSs but are not accredited by the ALA. Specifics related to the percentages of students and faculty in this specialization, the fulland part-time status of students, and the numbers of students enrolled were addressed in this survey. The survey further sought to determine the status of distance education opportunities, the internship as part of the school-media curriculum, and recruitment efforts of school library media preparation programs, school districts, state departments of education, and professional organizations.
THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALISTS
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) offers a unique opportunity for school library media specialists in the United States to apply for certification as a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Almost 1200 school library media specialists have successfully undertaken this opportunity for workplace learning, referred to by most candidates as the best professional development experience they have ever had. The process is rigorous and voluntary, with a low passing rate for first-time attempts. This paper explains the process for school library media NBCT candidacy, and discusses some impacts the certification process has had on continuing education for U.S. school library media specialists. Introduction The workplace is a center of learning activity for workers in all job categories and institutions. Learning happens constantly in the workplace, with every job task acting as an opportunity for learning. Sometimes this learning is casual and trial-and-error, such as learning a more efficient way to perform a task, or learning a new source of information. At times the learning is structured, with organized continuing education opportunities such as workshops or coursework. The impetus for the learning can also vary. Structured workshops are usually planned by management for the benefit of workers, while unstructured learning opportunities can be at the discretion of the workers. Barbara Allan notes that learning which occurs in the workplace can have more benefits than more structured activities. Firstly, it is cost-effective, since it does not usually involve travel, worker time, or tuition. Secondly, when the learning is based directly on the tasks associated with the job, there is a higher level of skill development and more retention of learned knowledge. And finally, the learning can occur at the best time for the task, for the worker, and for the institution. There is evidence that workers themselves prefer workplace learning rather than formal workshops. Ritchie places workplace learning in the context of improving professional practice, and reported findings from an American Library Association (ALA) survey that found that workers spent up to three times as much time on independent self-directed workplace learning as they did in structured workshops. She notes that workplace learning requires “practical application of new knowledge and skills learned and the transfer of training back into the workplace”. This paper explores a workplace learning opportunity for school library media specialists in the United States that combines both the structure of formalized continuing education opportunities and the flexibility and transferability of work-based learning. Unauthenticated Download Date | 6/29/19 8:04 PM 217 The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was conceived as a result of a national study on the recruitment and retention of teachers. The published findings called for a national board to be formed that would identify the components of good teaching, devise a process to identify the best teachers, and encourage states and school districts to reward these teachers accordingly. Its purpose was to encourage accomplished teachers to remain in the teaching profession, rather than to seek promotion or alternative careers that would take them away from direct contact with students. NBPTS was formed in 1987. Its three-part objective is to “advance the quality of teaching and learning by: • Maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, • Providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, and • Advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers”. The first step in the process was to identify the elements of good teaching that would apply to teachers in all subject areas or grade levels. These core propositions are the basic principles underlying what teachers should know and be able to do. Figure 1 NBPTS Five Core Propositions (www.nbpts.org) Five Core Propositions Teachers are committed to students and their
Instructional Design Competencies Taught at Library Schools.
This study investigates the extent to which students in the master's-level school library/media specialist programs are provided with instructional design competencies. A questionnaire, which requested information on the requirement and availability of 1 3 instructional design competencies as well as attitudinal information, was mailed to all accredited library school programs in the United States. Major findings are that schools tend to adopt instructional design as a unitary innovation, requiring all or none of the competencies; although a wide range of instructional design competencies are available somewhere on most campuses, a substantial minority of programs require none; the schools that require only a few competencies emphasize the more traditional ones, and there is a generally positive attitude toward requiring instructional design competencies by those completing the questionnaire, particularly where such requirements are already in place.