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Literacy exposure checklists that assess parental picture book knowledge (Parental Title Checklist [PTC] and Parental Author Checklist [PAC]) have been developed as proxy measures for literacy environments. Although previous research suggests that parental picture book knowledge is a strong predictor of language skills for preschoolers older than 3 years of age, it remains unclear whether it is related to vocabulary acquisition in children younger than 2 years of age. Using checklists of parental picture book knowledge (PTC and PAC) and self-report questionnaires of literacy environments (reading frequency, number of children's books at home, frequency of library visits, age at which reading started), this present research investigated whether such literacy environments are related to vocabulary acquisition in 15-month-olds Japanese. Our results showed that PTC makes a unique contribution to the prediction of children's comprehensive vocabulary scores, and both PTC and PAC predict their productive vocabulary after controlling for maternal education levels. We discuss the influence of parental picture book knowledge on children's language development and conclude that the effects of such knowledge are even applicable at 15 months.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predominant factors contributing to low reading abilities of pupils at Elsie Lund Basic School in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana. Purposive sampling technique was used to select twelve (12) classroom teachers of the Elsie Lund Basic School. The instrument used to collect data was one-to-one in-depth individual interview. The gathered data were analysed thematically. The analysis of the data showed the following to be the factors contributing to the low reading abilities of the pupils: their lack of confidence to practice how to read in class, poor motivation from teachers and parents to help develop the interest of the pupils in reading, lack of pre-reader books in school and at home, lack of library, teachers inadequate knowledge on phonemic awareness strategy of teaching reading, lack of reading clubs and lack of reading competition among the pupils in the school. Some recommendations were made to ensure an improvement in the reading abilities of the pupils, including: teachers building the confidence level of the pupils in reading through making them read cooperatively, the school authority supplying adequate pre-reader books to facilitate the teaching and learning of reading in the school, parents ensuring adequate supply of pre-reader books at home, parents rewarding and complementing their children for improved reading abilities, the school organising reading competitions among pupils and the school management partnering with the Ghana Education Service to organize inservice training for all language teachers on phonemic awareness strategy in teaching reading skills.

Art literacy refers to achieving artistic knowledge, evaluating this knowledge and integrating it with experiences. The aim of the study is to examine the ''art literacy'' levels of the students attending the educational faculty in terms of grade level, gender, the fact that they love art books, the fact that they love doing research in library, frequency of reading books and the department they attend. The study group consisted of 585 students attending the educational faculty of Nigde Omer Halisdemir University in 2017-2018 academic year. The art literacy scale was used to collect the data of the study. At the end of the study, it was determined that art literacy levels of students were similar in terms of class level and gender. It was realized that the art literacy level of the students enjoying reading art books was higher than the students who did not like doing so. It was also found out that the art literacy level of the students enjoying doing research in the library was higher than the students who did not like doing research. Moreover, the art literacy level of students who read books on a daily basis was higher than the students who read one book in a month and those who did not read.

Classrooms and museums have long provided the perfect environment for students to engage information on multiple levels. Some of the information is in the form of worksheets, textbooks, and interpretive panels others in the form of societal conceptions derived from their surroundings. Museums are supposed to be equitable spaces where facts can be engaged honestly but, historically, a lack of representation of Black communities and other minority groups proved museums to be spaces that silently continued to re-enforce negative connotations and racist ideas. This was a problem that was not lost on Black communities, who decided to build their own organizations and institutions that would show them in a more human light. These organizations recognized the importance of everyone in the communities they served, and strived to convey the history and spirit of a people through exhibitions that utilized every day objects. The early Black museums and cultural centers continually used experiential learning techniques to share their culture with all who visited, because a lot of the information they wished to disseminate was informal and learned through enculturation. This article will look at how Black museums developed using the idea of the "Democratic Museum" and what is now knows as experiential learning was used as a model to convey pride and community understanding in these spaces.

The purpose of this study is to determine self-efficacy perceptions of prospective Turkish language and literature teachers on critical reading with respect to a myriad of variables. On the basis of obtained findings, this study seeks to provide a conclusion and suggestions for future studies. Data relevant of this study were collected via administering "Critical Reading Self-efficacy Perception Scale" developed by Karadeniz. In data analysis, descriptive statistics were employed; data collected via the scale were interpreted by using independent sampling "t" test and one-factor variance analysis (ANOVA). Gathered results were then tabulated. This research was conducted during the fall term of 2017-2018 academic year among 150 prospective teachers studying in Turkish Language and Literature Teaching Departments of two major city universities. It was concluded that self-efficacy perceptions of prospective teachers on critical reading varied insignificantly with respect to enrolled university, gender, grade level, age, education level of parents, family income level and frequency of reading books. Nonetheless it differed significantly with respect to annual ratio of book reading and availability of a library in their residential location.

The increasing number of educational services has caused a high competition in this industry. In Indonesia, the number of private universities is the highest compared to state universities and other forms of higher education institutions. Ability to predict factors that are important in providing educational services to achieve student satisfaction and make them loyal to the university is highly necessary. In this study, we investigated the main factors of service quality that affect student satisfaction and loyalty by collecting data from 319 students from London School of Public Relation in Jakarta. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data through AMOS 24 statistical package. The findings indicated that the main factors influencing student satisfaction in private university are tangible and reliability consisting of: (1) comfortable lecture rooms, (2) adequate library facilities, (3) neat staff appearance, (4) non-discriminatory treatments provided by staff and lecturers, (5) high ability and knowledge provided by staffs and lecturers, and (6) appropriate academic services provided by the university. Student satisfaction with these factors would indirectly lead to loyalty to the university. Finally, service quality measurement through SERVQUAL was redundant as a model to measure the effect of service quality in educational service.

A human library is an event in which "readers" listen to "human books" tell personal stories about specific topics related to prejudice and discrimination. At the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta, the research team designed an assignment and collected associated data on the integration of the Augustana human library into an undergraduate Introduction to Women's Studies course. The assignment challenged students to consider both oral narratives and scholarly journal articles as information sources. Results showed that the human library assignment contributed to increased empathy, critical thinking, and engagement with course topics.

This study aimed to describe home literacy (HL) activities of Spanish-/English-speaking children of low-socioeconomic status backgrounds and examine the relationship between HL and performance on standardized assessments. Parents of 65 dual-language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten completed an HL questionnaire. Parents reported an average of 17 books at home and engaged in active HL activities for 24 minutes a day on average. The relations between HL activities and performance were evaluated using correlations and regression. Analyses revealed a significant relation between HL and children's language abilities, as measured by a bilingual measure of morphosyntax and semantics. Children's reported interest in reading was also positively associated with their phonological awareness skills. HL was significantly related to child interest in reading and language performance. These findings suggest that home literacy plays a role in the language and literacy development of DLLs. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED588647.]

In this study, it was aimed to identify the scientific research-related anxiety levels of the undergraduate students studying in the department of faculty of science and letters and faculty of education to analyse these anxiety levels in terms of various variables (students' gender, using web based information sources, going to the library, studying department, taking a course related to measurement and evaluation during undergraduate education), considering foregoing knowledge. This descriptive study was done using relational screening model from screening models. The sample of the research consisted of 534 students studying at Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science and Letters of Agri Ibrahim Çeçen University located in the east of Turkey, during the Fall Semester of 2017-2018. Participants consisted of 314 females and 220 males. 208 of the participants study at Department of History, 34 of those at Department of Science, 45 of those at Department of Geography, 120 of those at Turkish Philology, and 127 of those at Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Training. The data were attained through the "Personal Information Form" created by the researchers, and "Research-Related Anxiety Scale" developed by Büyukozturk [2]. As a result of the analysis made, no significant relationship was found between students' research-related anxiety levels and the variables such as students' gender, studying department, taking a course related to measurement and evaluation during undergraduate education. But, a significant relationship was found between students' research-related anxiety levels and the variables such as using web based information sources, going to the library. It was determined that undergraduate students' habits of going to the library and using web based information sources significantly reduced research anxiety

For education to be revolutionary, it must first be evolutionary. To ensure that our students are learning the lessons that will help them reach their full potential and make positive contributions to society, it is imperative that we don't just reflect upon what we are teaching, but also how we are teaching them. This article describes how Educators and child advocates are transforming learning as they find new ways of reaching and engaging young people, providing meaningful and transformative educational experiences. The article includes examples of such work being done throughout the world.

This article chronicles the founding of the Chicago Collections Consortium (CCC) and its growth in its first decade. The authors, two of the consortium's original founders, acknowledge the contributions of the CCC's member institutions and leadership. They also speculate on the reasons for the consortium's success and what the future might hold for the organization.

School projects of environmental education promote discovery learning, through teamwork, by involving local communities, scientists, organizations, authorities, and bodies and are carried out largely online in virtual environments. This research aimed to identify and highlight those characteristics of local communities that can be exploited by opening them up to classes with activities that are matched in experiential and inquiry teaching and learning. Specifically, through the frame of education for sustainable development. This research required the development of a tool for the reflection analysis of environmental open classes in local communities with the open classes' learning environments and those components of learning environments, which support the inquiry teaching and learning procedure in a school environmental project. Teachers supplied students with focused questions and urged them to try to find their own answers. More specifically, teachers facilitated students as coresearchers to choose their own issues, to set the queries, and decide the best methods to conduct their inquiry. This research demonstrates how open classes in social learning environments, offered experiences to students and teachers bringing them face to face with questionnaires, evidence, historical knowledge and real problems, which had been missing from their previous learning and teaching experiences.

Children's librarians are often required to be performers. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to determine the degree to which the Masters of Library Science (MLS) programs accredited by the American Library Association currently incorporate theatrical and performance-based training. A quantitative content analysis was conducted of 219 syllabi from 33 MLS programs to determine which courses included curriculum to support storytelling, puppetry, readers theatre, booktalking, read-alouds, and other performance elements. The results revealed that 93 of the courses currently incorporated one or more of these elements of performance or theatrical training. There was an overall limited degree of inclusion. All of the courses with the highest level of performance training were elective. Based on the results of this study, there may be room to consider whether the performance training offered by LIS Schools in North America is sufficient to equip children's librarians as they enter a field requiring those skills.

Understanding how social influences can foster avid book reader identification is a key research goal that warrants further investigation beyond a limited early-years lens. The author's 2015 International Study of Avid Book Readers (ISABR) explored, as one of its key research questions, the influence positive social agents can have on avid book readers, relying on the retrospective reflections of respondents from a range of countries and supporting quantitative data to explore this research focus. Early influences were examined, with data suggesting that maternal instruction is the most prevalent source of early reading teaching. Most respondents (64.3 percent) were the recipients of positive influence from a social agent. Indirect avid reader influence, author influence, fostering access, shared social habit, reading for approval, recommendations and supporting choice, and exposure to reading aloud were recurring mechanisms of influence. The multiple mechanisms of influence identified constitute opportunities for engagement and subsequent intervention by literacy advocates, including librarians.

It is widely understood that effective children's and youth librarians must be innovative, aware of current/popular trends, and able to build rapport with young patrons. However, more emphasis must be placed on the fact that it is essential for these librarians to be prepared to identify and meet the needs of a patron population that is becoming increasingly diverse. The annotated resource list provided here shares resources that support children's/youth services librarians in developing and strengthening skills of cultural competence defined as "a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals and enable that system, agency or those professions to work effectively in cross-cultural situations" (Cross et al. 1989, 7). Further, the annotated listing of materials serves to increase practitioners' acquisition of equity literacy defined as "the knowledge and skills that enable us to recognize, respond to, and redress conditions that deny some students access to educational and other opportunities enjoyed by their peers" (Gorski 2014).

Chemical screening libraries often feature natural product extracts (NPEs) due to the intriguing biological activities they possess and the structural diversity found in their individual components. A research project originally designed to create an extract library of every specimen in the University of Rhode Island (URI) Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden soon turned into a laboratory-based teaching project in which upper-division undergraduate students generated and analyzed extracts in an academic minisemester project. Additionally, motivated upper-division undergraduates carried out independent research isolating biologically active molecules. Hands-on laboratory activities enhanced students' knowledge of methodologies and workflows associated with extract analysis and biological evaluation of botanical extracts. The synergy of the laboratory course with the independent study contributed to workforce preparation and library generation.

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how families' sociomaterial experiences in engineering programs held in libraries and a museum influence their creative engineering practices and the creativity expressed in their products derived from their inquiry-driven engineering activities. Design/methodology/approach: This research project takes a naturalistic inquiry using qualitative and quantitative analyses based on video records from activities of 31 parent-child pairs and on creativity assessment of products that used littleBits as prototyping tools. Findings: Families engaged in two sociomaterial experiences related to engineering--collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering with materials--which supported the emergence of novel ideas and feasible solutions during the informal engineering programs. Families in the high novelty score group experienced multiple instances of collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering with materials, co-constructed through parent-child collaboration, that were expansive toward further idea and solution generation. Families in the low novelty score group experienced brief collaborative idea exchange and material tinkering with specific idea suggestions and high involvement from the parent. An in-depth case study of one family further illustrated that equal engagement by the parent and child as they tinkered with the technology supported families' creative engineering practices. Originality/value: This analysis adds to the information sciences and learning sciences literatures with an account that integrates methodologies from sociocultural and engineering design research to understand the relationship between families' engagement in creative engineering practices and their products. Implications for practitioners include suggestions for designing spaces to support families' collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering to facilitate the development of creative engineering practices during short-term engineering programs.

Research Findings: These two studies examined the different mathematical opportunities provided in preschool classrooms, with a particular focus on the availability of mathematical-themed books in classroom libraries. In study one, we interviewed teachers (N= 150) using an online survey to assess the content of preschool classroom libraries. In study two, we interviewed eight preschool teachers to examine their perceptions of how they teach mathematics and if they view the classroom library as a place for mathematical skill acquisition. Results of the online survey indicated that while teachers encourage the use of classroom libraries, these contained statistically fewer mathematics themed books. Teachers also spontaneously reported that mathematics was something done in the "math center" and not the library. Preschool teachers reported providing many mathematical opportunities throughout the day, but did not necessarily utilize the classroom library for mathematics. Policy or Practice: Given the prevalence of classroom libraries in preschools, we may be missing an important means of providing mathematical exploration, exposure, and opportunities for young children. This potential missed opportunity is an area for additional research.

We examine the notion of "person" in cultural heritage settings (libraries, museums, and archives) and how this notion has implications for their function and purpose. Variations in the way persons are described, represented, and discussed have taken on new significance in emerging online environments predicated on reusing and sharing data from disparate sources. We start with a representative sample of systems and tools used for organizing knowledge in tangible cultural heritage, including metadata standards, conceptual models, and web data models, and for each, analyze their formal definitions of personhood. We asked what characteristics of a person are important in each of these definitions, and what might be the reasons for any variations among them. An analysis of the definitions themselves revealed five dimensions of personhood: life, actuality, biology, agency, and individuality. Using this framework along with the general literature on personhood we then describe the possible reasons, both historical and practical, for the definitions, their dimensions, and the differences among them. Finally, we speculate on the implications of such differences for emerging information environments.

Videogames and videogame literacies are an important and growing aspect of education, yet videogaming remains poorly understood and even viewed with suspicion by many who are charged with promoting them. In the case of libraries, such views can lead to insufficient funding and policies that reduce the presence of youth programing that includes videogame play, and, therefore, it is important to understand the factors that support or inhibit videogame programming in libraries. This article presents findings from a national survey of more than 1,000 U.S. librarians in all 50 states to begin to understand the factors that might promote the presence (and absence) of videogame programming; the factors that support and impede the success of such programming; and the literacies that such youth programming might foster. Although this study focuses on videogame programming in libraries, its findings are relevant to anyone who promotes the development of youth literacies.

In this Teaching Tips article four time-saving systems to organize an elementary classroom library for successful inquiry instruction are shared. These systems include: Topic, Genre, Author, and Craft. Examples to assist teachers in organizing their own classroom libraries using one or more of these systems are also provided.

An Educational CAD Model Library (CAD Library) is being developed by collaborating educational associations affiliated with the National Technology Leadership Summit coalition. The CAD Library's Curators' Council has developed descriptive metadata fields that will be associated with each educational object published in the library. These fields are designed to facilitate search and discovery of objects by teachers who are increasingly well positioned to use these objects in their instruction due to the increasing presence of school-based makerspaces and the 3D printers, digital die cutters, and other fabrication tools. The publication of these metadata standards makes them available to the members of the educational associations participating in the development of the CAD Library and to other relevant stakeholders for feedback to inform ongoing revisions.

The aim of the study was to investigate the reasons why adult learners took longer than required to complete their Master's and Doctoral degrees. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to collect data. Twenty adult learners who registered for the Master's and Doctoral degrees at one township campus of a university were targeted, and 16 responded. All 16 participants lived in the townships, and obtained their primary, secondary and tertiary education from the township schools. It was found that the lack of computer skills, poor research skills, inadequate access to the internet, stress, supervision problems, as well as employer's workload contributed enormously to the adult learners' inability to complete their studies within the prescribed period. The study also highlighted the impact of apartheid education on adult learners at postgraduate level. The apartheid education system, which was characterised by poor education provision, played a major role in the slow completion of Masters and Doctoral degrees by the African adult learners. It is recommended that African adult learners who enroll for Masters or Doctoral degrees should do training in research approaches, computer skills, information search and stress management prior to their study. The study duration for both the Masters and Doctoral degrees also need to be reviewed, especially for adult learners or students who obtained their education from the township schools.

Language is one of the medium of expressing our ideas, feelings and emotions. And if we think about language in present world then English is one of the most used languages in the world and English is used as a second language in Bangladesh. English is introduced here at the primary level and its inclusion continues till the tertiary level of education. Most of the students of the primary schools in rural areas are weak in English language due to lack of skilled and trained teachers who are familiar to the modern methods and approaches of teaching and lack of materials for teaching in the classroom. Primary level English curriculum implementation is essential in Bangladesh to achieve the set English language competency in the rural areas. Students in the rural areas are performing poorly in English compared to their urban counterparts. Statistics showed that there was a gulf of difference between the facilities enjoyed by rural schools and urban schools. The study explores the challenges of teaching English language in rural areas in context of Bangladesh. This study investigated the factors affecting student's performance in English language in rural areas. Data were collected using interviews, classroom observation and questionnaire. Result of the study reveals that students were highly motivated to learn English for future expectations such as local and international communication, academic advancement and employment prospects. It also provide a scenario of English teaching system in rural areas of Bangladesh as well as the problems and prospects of English language in perspective of Bangladesh.

Numerous studies show large differences between economically advantaged and disadvantaged parents in the quality and quantity of their engagement in young children's development. This "parenting gap" may account for a substantial portion of the gap in children's early cognitive skills. However, researchers know little about whether the socioeconomic gap in parenting has increased over time. The present study investigates this question, focusing on income- and education-based gaps in parents' engagement in cognitively stimulating activities with preschool-aged children. We draw on data from four national studies conducted over 25 years. We found a decrease in income-based gaps in children's book ownership and library attendance but increasing income-based gaps for several other parent behaviors, including reading and telling stories to children and teaching children letters, words, and numbers. Income-based gaps in children's participation in out-of-home cultural activities also increased. Results for education-based gaps were similar. These gaps largely arose from top-income families pulling away from their middle- and low-income counterparts.

This paper presents the results of a study on the understanding of the term information literacy of primary and secondary school students, from the fifth grade of elementary school to the fourth year of high school at the local level, and who are members of the City Library in Imotski. The study examined 98 members of the City Library, through a questionnaire with a total of 25 questions. The selected sample consists of primary and secondary school students, members of the City Library because of their availability. The main objectives of our study were: to investigate, analyse, and determine how many students are information literate. That is, if students at the age of eleven to eighteen years understand the concept of information literacy in the right way. Since the misunderstanding of the term information literacy of students is present in the increased percentage, a measure is proposed of ongoing professional development of students in the spirit of the European concept of education.

In the case of libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs), the concept of convergence has become commonplace in recent time. Convergence addresses both physical spaces and the services provided. What is currently known as convergence within these institutions, should perhaps more accurately be described as reconvergence, as "in the late 1800s and early 1900s, libraries and museums shared space, resources, and personnel" (Given and McTavish, 2010). Research--especially about children's play--necessitates a fresh look at convergence in services provided by libraries and museums. This, in turn, asks for a reconsideration of training of museum and library professionals. This short communication considers the changing nature of training professionals in both libraries and museums within this emerging reconvergence of the LAMs. The authors use the concept of play as a central point of focus--a conceptual converging point where both museums and libraries intersect--to help explore the possibilities for both training professionals and informing their future practice.

Libraries often lack the in-house information technology (IT) expertise required to (1) implement mobile applications and related technologies (MAT); (2) attain maximum return on investment including patron satisfaction for using MAT; and (3) reduce reliance on expensive IT consultants. Based on secondary analysis of the experiences and advice offered by librarians and IT professionals engaged in implementing MAT in libraries, we identify four core and six "supplementary" competencies needed to help libraries better serve their patrons using MAT. LIS graduate programs could equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to build 10 competencies so that they could serve as mobile technology consultants (MTCs) for libraries. Core competencies are mobile application development, human-computer interaction, computer networking, and planning and management of mobile technologies; and the supplementary competencies are: project management, change management, negotiation, data management, policy management, and grant writing.

Collective collections are multiple local collections described and/or managed as a single collection. Constructing, understanding, and operationalizing collective collections is an increasingly important aspect of collection management for many libraries. This article presents some general insights about collective collections, drawn from a series of studies conducted by OCLC. These insights identify salient characteristics of many collective collections and serve as a starting point for developing collective collection-based strategies for such library priorities as shared print, digitization, and group-scale discovery and fulfillment.

Background: Shared reading interventions can impact positively on preschool children's language development and on their caregiver's attitudes/behaviours towards reading. However, a number of barriers may discourage families from engaging with these interventions, particularly families from lower socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. We investigated how families from such backgrounds responded to an intervention designed explicitly to overcome these barriers. Methods: In a preregistered cluster randomised controlled trial, 85 lower SES families and their 3-year-old to 4-year-old children from 10 different preschools were randomly allocated to take part in The Reader's Shared Reading programme (intervention) or an existing 'Story Time' group at a library (control) once a week for 8 weeks. Three outcome measures were assessed at baseline and post intervention: (1) attendance, (2) enjoyment of the reading groups and (3) caregivers' knowledge of, attitudes and behaviours towards reading. A fourth -- children's vocabulary -- was assessed at baseline and 4 weeks post intervention. Results: Families were significantly more likely to attend the intervention group and rated it more favourably, compared with the control group. However, there were no significant effects on caregivers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours or on children's language. Conclusion: The intervention was only successful in engaging families from disadvantaged backgrounds in shared reading. Implications for the use, duration and intensity of shared reading interventions are discussed.