Attitude of Undergraduate Students to Information Literacy: Bowen University Experience

Abstract

The study investigated the rationale behind undergraduates’ apathy for information literacy (IL) programme at Bowen University, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and a multi-stage sampling method was used to select a sample size of five hundred participants spread across disciplines and levels of study. A questionnaire containing close-ended, structured items was used to gather data from the respondents and descriptive analyses, including percentages and frequency count were used to analyse the data collected. Three research questions were developed and answered and three research hypotheses were tested through the instrument. Results show that students’ attitude to information literacy significantly influences their information literacy skill and students’ perception of information literacy significantly influences their information literacy skills. Although perception of IL does not predict influence of IL on students, attitude to IL determines the influence of IL on students’ information literacy skills. The study further revealed that the erroneous equation of technology literacy with information literacy was largely responsible for students' lukewarm disposition to information literacy. The study concludes by recommending a paradigm shift from the traditional teaching delivery to a technology-driven, interactive pedagogy that will ginger the interest of the students and thus effect the desired attitudinal change to IL.

Keywords

• Attitude,Information literacy,Digital literacy,Information Communication Technologies,Undergraduate students,Bowen University

References

1. Adebamigbe, D. A. (2004). Attitude of Nigerian university students towards information literacy. Librarian and Information Journal Review, 4(2), 106-123.
2. Adekunle, P. A., Ogie, R. O., & Tella, A. (2007). Attitudes of librarians in selected Nigerian Universities toward the use of ICT. Library Philosophy and Practice.
3. Adetoro, N., Simisaye, A., &Oyefuga, A B, (2010). Relationship between perceived self-efficacy and information literacy among library and information science (LIS) undergraduates in a Nigerian University of Education. Ife Psychologia, 18, 172-191. DOI: 10.4314/ifep.v18i2.56758.
4. Ahmed, S., & Bora, A. (2012). The relationship between teachers' attitude about teaching mathematics and students' mathematics achievement in India. Journal of International Education Research, 80(28).
5. American Library Association. (2013). Digital literacy, libraries, and public policy: Report of the office for information technology policy’s digital literacy task force. Retrieved from http://www.districtdispatch.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/2012_OITP_digilitreport_1_22_13.pdf
6. Anyaoku, E. E, Ezeani, C. N., & Osuigwe, N. E. (2014). Building a knowledge society: Information literacy skills and practices of librarians in universities in South East Nigeria. Paper presented at the 52nd National conference and Annual General Meeting in Enugu, Nigeria.
7. Association of College & Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for information iteracy for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/infolit/Framework_ILHE.pdf
8. Baro, E., & Zuokemefa, T (2011). Information literacy programmes in Nigeria: A survey of 36 university libraries. New Library World, 112(11/12), 549-565. DOI: 10.1108/03074801111190428

9. Beetham, H. (2011). Digital literacy anatomised: Access, skills, and practices. [online] Joint Information System Committee (JISC) Design Studio. Retrieved from http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/file/40474828/Digital%20literacies%20anatomy.pdf
10. Bulls, L. (2016). De-myth-tifying the gender digital divide in Latin America: Libraries as intermediaries in bridging the gap. Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management, 12, 1-18. DOI: 10.5931/djim.v12.i1.6448
11. Buzzetto-Hollywood, N., Wang, H., Elobeid, M., & Elobeid, M. (2018). Addressing information literacy and the digital divide in higher education. Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 14, 77-93. DOI: 10.28945/4029
12. Driscoll, M. A. (2010). Information literacy seven corners: Improving instruction by reviewing how librarians, faculty culture, professional literature, technology, and today’s college students converge. Library Students Journal, 5.
13. Dunn, H. S. (2010). Information literacy and the digital divide: Challenging e-Exclusion in the Global South In Ferret, E. et al. (eds.) Handbook of research on overcoming digital divides: Constructing an equitable and competitive information society.
14. Freeman, C. A. (2004). The relationship of undergraduate students’ self-assessment of library skills to their opinion of library instruction: A self-reporting survey The Southeastern Librarian, 52(3) Article 8. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/seln/vol52/iss3/8
15. Gajalakshmi. (2013). High school students’ attitude towards learning English language. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 3(9), 1-7.
16. Gasiewski, J. A., Eagan, M. K., Garcia, G. A., Hurtad, O. S., & Chang, M. J. (2012). From gate-keeping to engagement: A multi contextual, mixed method study of student academic engagement in introductory STEM courses. Res High Educ., 53, 229-261.
17. Hargittai, E. (2005). Survey measures of web-oriented digital litercy. Social Science Computer Review, 23(3), 371-379. DOI: 10.1177/0894439305275911
18. Hanson, B., Kilcoyne, M., Perez-Mira, B., Hanson, T., & Champion, S. (2011). Digital knowledge and application skills: A comparison study of entering freshman. Journal of Research in Business Information Systems, 4(4), 55-68.
19. Hornby, A. S. (2010). Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English. New York: Oxford University Press.
20. JISC. (2014). Developing digital literacies. Retrieved from https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides /developing-digital-literacies on January 14, 2016.
21. Judd, T., & Kennedy, G. (2011). Expediency-based practice? Medical students' reliance on Google and Wikipedia for biomedical inquiries. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(2), 351-360. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.01019.x
22. Kim, S. U., & Shumaker, D. (2015). Student, librarian, and instructor perceptions of information literacy instruction and skills in a first year experience program: A case study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(4), 449-456. DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2015.04.005
23. Mckee-Waddell, S. (2015). ‘Digital literacy: Bridging the gap with digital writing tools. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 82(1), 26-31.
24. Mishra, S., Cellante, D., & Kavanaugh, L. (2015). Assessing the usefulness of a core introductory information systems course in undergraduate curriculum: An experimental study. Issues in Information Systems, 16(1), 31-40.
25. Murray, M. C., & Pérez, J. (2014) Unraveling the digital literacy paradox: How higher education fails at the fourth literacy. Issues in Informing Science & Information Technology, 11, 85-100.
26. Moore, N. (1997). Issues and trends: The information society In Mayor, F. (ed.) World information report, 1997/1998, UNESCO, 271-284.
27. Ogunlana, E. K, Oshinaike, A. B, Akinbode, R. O., & Okunoye, O. (2013). Students’ perception, attitude and experience as factors influencing learning of information literacy skills in public universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Information and Knowledge, 3(5), 127-134.
28. Ondari-Okemwa, E. (2016). Developing digital information literacy at institutions of higher learning in sub-saharan Africa: Opportunities and challenges. Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL), 1-20.
29. O’Reilly, C. (2014). Searching for French civilization: Reflections on situating information literacy skills in an undergraduate curriculum. In J. D. James (Ed.), The Internet and the Google age: Prospects and perils (pp. 99-115). Dublin: Research-publishing.net. DOI: 10.14705/rpnet.2014.000180
30. Pinto, M., & Fernández-Pascual, R. (2017). How a cycle of information literacy assessment and instruction stimulates attitudes and motivations of LIS students: A competency-based case study. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. DOI: 10.1177/0961000617742447
31. Pinto, M. (2010). Design of the IL-HUMASS survey on information literacy in higher education: A self-assessment approach. Journal of Information Science, 36(1), 86-103. DOI: 10.1177/0165551509351198
32. Perkins, K. K., Adams, W. K., Pollock, S. J., Finkelstein, N. D., &. Wieman, C. E. (2005). Correlating student beliefs with student learning using the Colorado learning attitudes about science survey. AIP Conference Proceedings, 790 (61). DOI: 10.1063/1.2084701
33. Reetseng, M. P. (2016). An Assessment of the attitudes of undergraduate. Retrieved from https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/58606/Reetseng_Assessment_2016.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
34. Saunders, L. (2012). Faculty perspectives on information literacy as a student learning outcome. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(4), 226-236. DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2012.06.001
35. Schmidt Hanbidge, A., Tin, T., & Sanderson, N. (2018). Information literacy skills on the go: Mobile learning innovation. Journal of Information Literacy, 12(1), 118-136. DOI: 10.11645/12.1.2322
36. Shapiro J. J., & Hughes S. K. (1996) Information Literacy as a liberal art: Enlightenment proposal for a new curriculum. Educom Review, 31(2).
37. Tella, A., & Bashorun, M. T. (2012). Attitude of undergraduate students towards computer-based test (CBT): A case study of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 8(2), 1-13
38. Tumbleson, B. E. & Burke, J. J. (2013). Embedding librarianship in learning management systems: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. Chicago, IL: ALA Neal-Schuman.
39. Valerie, D. (2015). Factors generating of positive attitudes towards learning of the pupils. The 6th International Conference Edu World 2014 “Education Facing Contemporary World Issues”, 7th - 9th November 2014, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 180, 554-558.
40. Warschauer, M. (2011).A literacy approach to the digital divide. Cadernos de Letras (UFRJ), 28(1), 1-14. Retrieved from http://www.letras.ufrj.br/anglo_germanicas/cadernos/numeros/072011/textos/ cl31072011mark.pdf
41. Zwimpfer, L. (2016) ‘Digital literacy: What are we really talking about?’, Collected Magazine, 18, 20.