ERIC Number: ED545588
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 218
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Qualitative Study Exploring Influences on the Types of Online Instructional Support Provided by High School Librarians
Bryan, Valerie S.
Online Submission, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of West Georgia
The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of high school librarians related to use of online environments to provide instructional support. The study sought to discover influences on the types of online instructional support provided by high school librarians. Inquiry focused on the participant librarians' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of implementing different types of online instructional support. Additionally, the study investigated the participants' experiences of the relationship between the online instructional support that they provide and instructional partnerships. A purposive sample was sought through a posting in a statewide library media listserv, which led to five participants, each from a different school district. The most valuable source of data collection was a semi-structured interview; other supporting data came from prompted participant journal entries, and from artifacts related to the participants' online instructional support. Individual cases examined in this qualitative study are not intended to produce generalizable knowledge; however, they provide examples documenting what is possible for high school librarians seeking to provide online instructional support. Rich description was provided regarding each of the participants' experiences in order to enable other librarians to consider the possible transferability of the concepts presented to their own instructional context. Findings suggest that networking assists school librarians with ideas about what technologies to use and how to use them to support instruction; however, much of the learning that the participants described required the school librarian to take the initiative to engage in an independent learning effort to prepare for implementation. The participants were resilient when obstacles were encountered, finding alternative routes when necessary to provide online instructional support to serve the needs of students. Ease of use and compatibility of technologies influenced the participants' choice of online instructional resources and strategies, as did local school district actions. Ultimately, audience acceptance strongly influenced which online instructional technologies and strategies were frequently used. Recommendations include focusing on a limited number of online instructional support strategies, to increase the amount of time that may be devoted to content-area instruction. The following are appended: (1) Listserv Post for Identifying Participants; (2) Initial Email to Possible Participants; (3) Participant Journal Prompts; (4) Semi-Structured Interview Guide; and (5) Guidelines for Examples of Online Instructional Support.
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A