‘Informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’? Understanding and enacting information literacy from a UK citizenship perspective

Abstract

Information literacy (IL) has been considered by Library and Information Studies (LIS) research and praxis to be vital in helping citizens be ‘informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’ within society. LIS discourse has explored different conceptions of citizenship and its relationship with IL within the paradigm of liberal democratic societies. Critical IL approaches have in turn promoted a citizenship of personal agency, empowerment, challenging the status quo and the pursuit of social justice, as well as focusing on what has been termed ‘political literacy’. However, critical information literacy has also problematised some of the approaches to citizenship found in LIS discourse. Despite the complexity of the subject, empirical study into these issues is still severely lacking. This research moves to start addressing this need by investigating how IL is understood and enacted from the perspective of UK citizenship. Using a qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews with five UK citizens based in Oxford, UK, in the summer of 2019, it set out to establish the relationship between IL and citizenship in a personal context. It was found to be understood and enacted through the development of socially-constructed personal citizenship information landscapes, oriented to a personal sense of citizenship, agency, motivation and empowerment. These personal landscapes challenge some of the established IL paradigms of ‘informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’ citizens, as well as related concepts of information ‘wealth’ and ‘poverty’. They also raise questions of the role of personal ethics in decision making as citizens and potential tensions with ‘acceptable’ norms. These findings help to further problematise the dynamic between IL and citizenship, and challenge LIS research and praxis not just to promote specific values and goals, but also to work towards a greater understanding of the personal contexts shaping that dynamic.

An information literacy lens on community representation for participatory budgeting in Brazil

“…More research is needed into the nature of the teamwork between members of their community council and how that impacts their IL, and the role of place when considering everyday information practices in a community. Cloudesley (2021) argued that IL for citizenship is based on social interactions embedded in a community, including "information seeking on behalf of others" (p.28), without mentioning the role of representatives. Information seeking by proxy is inherent in the community aspect of IL for citizenship .…”

“…Evidence is also found of representatives finding information on behalf of others (Cloudesley, 2021), acting as a proxy information source for their communities and for branches of government. Additionally, further evidence is provided in section 4.3 of the importance of digital IL in accessing and sharing information (Cloudesley, 2021;Lupien & Rourke, 2021).…”

“…A perceived need for improving social justice was one of the drivers behind the emergence of IL as an area of academic study (Lloyd, 2017;Lloyd et al, 2016;Saunders, 2017). IL has long been seen as an essential component of citizenship (Cloudesley, 2021;Lupien & Rourke, 2021;Smith, 2016). More generally, media, digital and information literacies are associated with taking part in civic activities and engaging with democratic processes (Duran et al, 2008;Hobbs et al, 2013;Kahne et al, 2012;Martens & Hobbs, 2015;Polizzi, 2020).…”

“…It should also include the manner of working, in particular the different forms of collaboration that are involved in their information activities and practices. However, even recent accounts of IL for democracy, such as Cloudesley (2021), have no role for representatives. Other issues in the research include a lack of consideration of the context of the information activity-for example the role of training, skillacquisition, and teamwork for community representatives.…”

Approaches to information literacy conceptualisation in primary, secondary, and higher education contexts

“…Information literacy (IL) is an essential academic and life skill, especially in today's everexpanding, increasingly complex information landscape (Cunningham & Rosenblatt, 2018;Perdew, 2016;Polizzi, 2020). Indeed, scholars have long argued that democracy and citizenship are dependent upon an information literate citizenry that is well-informed and actively engaged (Cloudesley, 2021;Lupien & Rourke, 2021). Consequently, developing students' IL proficiency is crucial for preparing responsible information users and creators in scholarly, work, and everyday learning contexts (cf, Hirsh, 2022;Pawley, 2018).…”