Abstract:
School library media specialists were surveyed to determine their perception of the level of endorsement that school library media specialists place on the AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (ALA, 2007) and their perception of how much they implement the standards into their library media programs. An online survey was used to gather the data from 305 current school library media specialists in the state of Georgia. The relationship of these perceptions was studied to determine whether the level of endorsement was the same as the level of implementation for each of the nine beliefs, four standards, and each item in the four strands for each standard. The relationship between the level of endorsement of the beliefs and the standards was studied to determine whether this level was the same for the beliefs and the standards. Also studied were the relationships between the level of implementation of the beliefs and standards to determine whether each was perceived as implemented at the same level. The demographic data collected about each respondent included years of service as a school library media specialist, years of prior teaching experience, school level (elementary, middle, or high), and membership in school library organizations (state or national). Each item in the four strands of the four standards was studied to see whether there was a relationship between the overlying standard and strands, which consist of skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment. The data were analyzed using nonparametric statistical methods. The level of endorsement was found to be significantly higher than the level of implementation for almost all of the beliefs, standards, and strands found in AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. The significant differences found in analysis of the responses from the whole group and the demographic groups are discussed and recommendations are given.
