Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to identify and evaluate the information literacy skills of Greek High school students. A set of 22 questions applied to 249 students of High Schools of Thessaloniki, Greece. Their literacy skills were evaluated with 4 TRAILS questions. Quantitative and qualitative parameters analyzed with analysis of variance and Pearson chi square criterion, respectively. Students were trained to computer use at home (59%) by their parents (30.4%), and to Internet use at home (55.5%) on their own (33.6%). Daily Internet use was high (4.2±2.4 hours), being communicative (73.6%) and entertaining (26.1%) and to lesser extend educational (12.9%). Students were mostly self-trained to quick and efficient search to the Internet (32.1%). There was no difference in time spent on the Internet between genders or classes. However, students with the highest school grades spent significantly less time compared to those with the lowest grades (3.41±1.44 vs 5.95±3.08 hours, P<0.0001). Students seek information for their homework mainly on the Internet (81.6%); 27.3% of them never used a library catalogue. Information search techniques were mainly the use of keywords (31%) and the “search within results” (13.6%). Students’ self-assessment regarding information literacy skills was very high; it ranged from 59% (use of indexes) to 94% (information search in the Internet). However, only 10% answered correctly to the 4 control questions. Moreover, 79.2% of students find necessary the enforcement of their information literacy skills through school learning programs. In conclusion, students’ literacy skills are not well developed, despite their positive self-evaluation.