Glenda Daniels The use of school libraries will become a teaching method when the new draft policy on libraries becomes legislation early next year. Well-resourced libraries will become a new tool in outcomes-based education, according to the Department of Education’s draft policy. Standards for school and public libraries are also about to be raised and interactive methods of teaching will take place through a variety of materials.
A three-way partnership that began in 1997 between a Swedish organisation, Bibliotek Samehalle, the Education Policy Unit (EPU) and the Department of Education is about to bear fruit if the first official policy document that looks at school libraries as integral to the curriculum becomes law. New methods of learning will be encouraged through this resource, according to the document National Policy Framework for School Library Standards, drawing attention to the relationship between the school library, the curriculum and learning resources. “Through it, the department considers the importance of school libraries in encouraging and supporting learning that is based on the use of a wide range of learning resources to create critical thinkers and promote lifelong learning. Such an approach is a key characteristic of the new outcomes-based approach to learning and teaching.” The emphasis is on creating independent learners.
The document adds that the state must see to it that enough schools are built and maintained, educators are trained and paid, books and other material for the schools are purchased to maintain a good standard of education. This document is the first to formulate national school library policy.
The policy document recommends different models of school libraries. Each school can choose a model depending on its circumstances. There will be a wider variety of resources than is normal in libraries the aim is to have all media available, such as audiotapes, three-dimensional models, charts, slides, CDs, worksheets and old examination papers. It is expected that there will be a collaborative effort between pupils, teachers, teacher-librarians, support staff, parents and administrators, the education ministry and the community. The new approach to learning and teaching, according to the document, calls for a “shift in focus on the role of the educator and the teacher-librarian. The library collection should be the vehicle for the development of the school’s information skills curriculum so that learners will acquire the skills of analysing and critically evaluating information for lifelong development through using library-based resources.” Towards this end, phase one of the project has been completed with a study tour of 18 South African school library advisers and a national policy developer, to Sweden. The tour is organised by the EPU’s Library Practice for Young Learners Project. In addition, supportis given to 10 pilot schools to establish library committees to formulate policy and try out good practice observed in Sweden. Next year the main goals for phase two include: l Continued capacity building and development in the 10 pilot schools; l Materials developed to guide school principals; l Study tours to Sweden and South Africa to exchange ideas about ways of defining learning resources; and l Advocacy and capacity building workshops for school-level practitioners.