The study presents the status of school libraries in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in the period 1990 to April 1996. The status quo is examined in order to provide a backdrop to the development of an implementation plan for resource provision in the region. This is because access to resources at school level is important for the enrichment of the learning experience and the development of skills needed to access information effectively. It was not easy to obtain data. Several different instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and talks were resorted to, to collect the information required in the study. The study reports on the library and education context in the Province in the period 1990 to April 1996, locating school libraries within both the education arena and the library and information profession. The study reflects on the policy, provision and service of the five former Departments of Education in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. International trends in school libraries and librarianship are also reviewed, particular attention being paid to the provision of school library services in Africa. The international perspective was reviewed to help inform the plan for school library provision in the KwaZulu-Natal region. The study suggests that a school library in each school in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal is not affordable in the near future. It suggests the planning of joint school/public libraries, for resource provision to schools in the region. This joint provision is suggested on the basis of incorporating the school library provisioning section into the Provincial public library system and the removal of the procurement function from the school library advisory service in the Department of Education. An exact plan to enable the above is suggested in the study, prioritising both short-and long-term goals. The study suggests the development of teachers' centres that promote resource-based teaching and learning at school level. It is clear that the exact details of the school/public library partnership have to be clearly mapped out, before the joint project is undertaken, in order to ensure that all stakeholders understand their responsibilities, and that the provision of resources to enhance and optimise the teaching experience needs to interact with the cultural context of the child for the benefits of a library to be fully experienced. The above, will only be possible if a co-ordinated Provincial policy and plan for resource provision are accepted and acted upon; that is, translated into minimum standards for provision. The lack of policy, standards and plan have, in the past, led to ad hoc provision of resources in the Province. The challenge is to convince all stakeholders of the advisability of the above as an interim arrangement in the school sector. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University, 1994. / Includes vita. "94-23441." eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-166).

No description available.

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MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

This thesis aims to establish how high school librarians in Scotland and America can become effective evidence-based decision-makers. Initial data collection consisted of written questionnaires to elicit background data from librarians on the extent of their evidence-based practice. Three main themes emerged: collaboration; interprofessional relationships and roles; and decision-making. These themes are discussed in more detail. A range of qualitative methodologies was designed and implemented to gain more in-depth information on practice and viewpoints, involving librarians and stakeholders. A draft model was created of the effective evidence-based practitioner in a high school library, based on an interpretation of findings and readings from the literature. After member-checking and validating by stakeholders, a final model was produced. This emergent model focuses not on the role of the school librarian in isolation, but stresses the importance of interrelationships involving the librarian. The study makes an original contribution to knowledge by giving a better understanding of the effective evidence-based high school librarian in the wider context of education. There is also a contribution to knowledge by adding to the general theory of workplace decision-making and evidence-based practice which is applicable outwith the school sector, and the pragmatic solution-driven model of decision-making is introduced. Key findings give an insight into the complexity of the school library situation, and highlights that ideally there will be positive relationships between school management, school librarian and collaboration. When these come together, it can mean an increase in student achievement, and more effective evidence-based decisions can be made. Findings also demonstrate links between these elements with evidence, national bodies and skills and qualities needed to be an effective evidence-based high school librarian, and identify how the new and complex expectations made of school librarians can be met. Recommendations are made to help stakeholders improve practice.

The problem selected for the study in the recent research project was to determine the effectiveness of the Sour Lake, Texas, High School library program as it was reflected through the reading experiences of the thirty-one first-year high school pupils for the year 1945-1946. These reading experiences were analyzed on the basis of the number and the classifications of the books charged from the library by the pupils for use in the various academic subjects. For the purposes of the study, the books were grouped in accordance with the arrangement of the Dewey Decimal System of classification, which is the system used by the school librarian in classifying and cataloging all library materials. Although the principal phase of the investigation involved a study of the books circulated, an analysis was made also of the books and other library materials used for factual information and for special classroom assignments.

A questionnaire survey of the 385 Indiana high schools was conducted to determine how many of a selected list of 150 titles of Black literature the schools owned and the factors that appeared to be related to the acquisition of that number of titles.The 72 per cent response was analyzed to determine whether the following were related to the size of the Afro-American collections concerning the library--the size of the total book collection, the money available for purchase of books and periodicals, the person making the final decision about buying books, and the existence of a written book selection policy; concerning the school-the total student enrollment, the percentage of Black students, the size of the community the school serves, and the existence of units or courses in Black studies; concerning the librarian-the age, sex, education, and experience of the librarian.

Thesis (MEd) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript. Sponsor: Willard S. Elsbree. Dissertation Committee: Phil Lange, Paul W. F. Witt. Type C project. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-234).