Academic Power Structures & Information: Going the Distance for Lifelong learning
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Ethics in Information
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Session 1 Papers
Relevance
Due to the emphasis within the COVID pandemic on communicating to the public a fast paced constantly changing body of scientific evidence, librarians are in need of pedagogical approaches to teaching students to navigate an overwhelming amount of information. In parallel to this, there is a long awaited movement to be more inclusive in our practice, and a need to frame a diverse set of available information within an appropriate context.
Proposal
When students enter university, they learn that there are two types of information: information that can be found using library resources and the information that is found using internet search engines, like Google. These information sources are often framed in opposition to one another, with the library’s resources representing good, reliable, and authoritative information, while other sources are considered risky and inferior. The best way to avoid scientific misinformation students learn, is to defer to peer reviewed sources. Librarians have started to question the usefulness of privileging certain types of information over others, acknowledging that highly useful and reliable information does exist outside of the confines of library resources (Mark, 2011; Mercer & Weaver, 2020; Tewell, 2018).
If this privileging of sources does not serve the interests of students, then whose interests are served by this practice? Contextualizing information using critical theory helps us position information within the broader academic power structure (Accardi et al. 2010; Elmborg, 2006). By devaluing sources created outside of academic power structures, the system helps to perpetuate itself at the expense of non-academic voices. Further, individuals with alternative viewpoints must first learn to act, think, and excel on academia’s terms before their worldviews and the information they have to share will be granted authority by the academy. We suggest a more inclusive approach to library instruction that encourages students to critically evaluate information regardless of its peer review status. Instruction on the critical evaluation of information gives students a framework to consider both non-peer reviewed and peer reviewed sources equally. By teaching skills that will serve students both during and after their academic career, notably when they lose access to subscription databases, librarians can foster inclusive and diverse perspectives, authorities, and viewpoints to support lifelong learning.
Presentation Description
This presentation presents a framework for contextualizing information that combines critical theory with established approaches to information evaluation. This provides a pedagogical approach for librarians to effectively and methodically teach students to grapple with misinformation and existing embedded power structures.
Keywords
Information literacy, STEM, Critical Theory
Publication Type and Release Option
Event
Recommended Citation
Mercer, Kate Dr.; Weaver, Kari D. Dr.; and Mutch, Stephanie, "Academic Power Structures & Information: Going the Distance for Lifelong learning" (2022). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2022/2022/5
Academic Power Structures & Information: Going the Distance for Lifelong learning
Session 1 Papers
When students enter university, they learn that there are two types of information: information that can be found using library resources and the information that is found using internet search engines, like Google. These information sources are often framed in opposition to one another, with the library’s resources representing good, reliable, and authoritative information, while other sources are considered risky and inferior. The best way to avoid scientific misinformation students learn, is to defer to peer reviewed sources. Librarians have started to question the usefulness of privileging certain types of information over others, acknowledging that highly useful and reliable information does exist outside of the confines of library resources (Mark, 2011; Mercer & Weaver, 2020; Tewell, 2018).
If this privileging of sources does not serve the interests of students, then whose interests are served by this practice? Contextualizing information using critical theory helps us position information within the broader academic power structure (Accardi et al. 2010; Elmborg, 2006). By devaluing sources created outside of academic power structures, the system helps to perpetuate itself at the expense of non-academic voices. Further, individuals with alternative viewpoints must first learn to act, think, and excel on academia’s terms before their worldviews and the information they have to share will be granted authority by the academy. We suggest a more inclusive approach to library instruction that encourages students to critically evaluate information regardless of its peer review status. Instruction on the critical evaluation of information gives students a framework to consider both non-peer reviewed and peer reviewed sources equally. By teaching skills that will serve students both during and after their academic career, notably when they lose access to subscription databases, librarians can foster inclusive and diverse perspectives, authorities, and viewpoints to support lifelong learning.
