A comparative analysis of information literacy curriculum standards in the educational programs of high schools in China and in the United States

摘要

Our study aims to take a closer look at China’s current information literacy(IL)program standards at secondary schools and to analyze their level of success and/or failures in a comparative way with those of the United States in terms of fulfilling their each other’s mission-oriented mandates.Our research findings show that China’s current IL standards of high schools contain a disproportionate emphasis on information technology(IT).Moreover,the stipulations of these IL standards are narrowly construed and without being solidly grounded on a broad and comprehensive educational perspective.We also suggest that there are two underlying causes for this set of unsound IL standards in China.Firstly,there is a lack of collaboration between two major competing forces engaged in the curricular development and research of IL in China:Those professionals in educational IT discipline vis-à-vis those in Library and Information Science.Secondly,library professionals have a very limited influence on major socio-cultural policies,even at their own institutions.As a result,this paper recommends the following three possible measures,which may help remedy this situation strategically:1)Establishing a set of new IL curriculum standards based on an IL-centered educational perspective;2)establishing a teacher-librarian’s training program to promote school librarians’role in IL education;and 3)strengthening the research and development of an online IL education program and an accompanied evaluation mechanism.