College and Research Libraries Library Skills, Critical Thinking, and the Teacher-training Curriculum Nancyanne O'Hanlon Elementary schoolteachers play an important part in the development of both bibliographic skills and the critical-thinking skills that are necessary to complete research tasks successfully. This paper describes the results of a survey of elementary-education faculty at teacher-training institutions in Ohio designed to explore attitudes toward the elementary schoolteacher's role in research skills instruction and toward library instruction in teacher-training programs . Results indicated strong support for teaching of library skills to future teachers, but also some ambiguity concerning the relationship of critical-thinking skills to the library research process. n many college campuses, the careful listener can hear the muted but plaintive cry of the user-instruction librarian: "Why, oh why, didn't they learn these simple things in high school?" Journal ar- ticles covering academic library instruc- tional issues frequently decry the entering college student's lack of bibliographic skills and stress the importance of their in- troduction at the elementary-schoollevel. Certainly concerns about minimal compe- tency are not the province of academic li- brarians alone. In recent years, the popular media, the academic press, and government panels have labored over questions of school re- form in general and the revision of teacher-training programs in particular. Are these two issues-library skills on the one hand and curricular needs of pupils and future teachers on the other-related in any meaningful way? This article ex- plores that link through a survey of faculty at teacher-training institutions in Ohio. The study was designed to investigate the role of library skills training in teacher pre- paratory programs, and the results, de- tailed below, suggest potential areas for improvement in students' information- finding and critical-thinking skills. Recent reports on educational reform by state agencies and federal panels indicate that the development of critical-thinking skills is central to the improvement of edu- cational outcomes at all levels. An Ohio re- port states Higher order skills such as identifying, analyz- ing, and solving problems; anticipating and planning outcomes; evaluating consequences of decisions; determining interrelationships; and locating needed information are increas- ingly being identified as skills that will be needed by students if they are going to be pre- pared to adapt to changes in the future. 1 The report further recommends that teaching these skills become an integral part of the school curriculum. And yet this report, and others like it, fail to recognize the direct connection between the library research process and acquisition of those ''higher order skills.''2 Nancyanne O'Hanlon is Reference Librarian in the Undergraduate Library at Ohio State University, Colum- , bus, Ohio 43210. 17 18 College & Research Libraries Solving research problems successfully, or ''information literacy,'' involves identi- fying and analyzing the research ques- tion, planning a library search strategy, evaluating information sources found, and determining relationships among dif- ferent types of information. In short, the process is much like putting together a complex puzzle. These library skills are, in the words of one commentator, not only important for the development of higher level intellectual skills and knowledge, but also intimately relate to many of the curricu- lar content areas, for example, set theory in mathematics and classification concepts in sci- ence.3 The belief that ''teachers must be infor- mation literate if kids are to be information literate' ' 4 motivated the study described in this report. Neither school librarians nor teachers can hope to teach library skills in a vacuum; they must be partners in this venture, relating library assignments to the instructional content of the curricu- lum. For a real partnership to succeed, teachers themselves must be well versed in research techniques and mtist view the teaching of bibliographic skills as impor- tant. In other words, the development of research skills should be an integral part of the teacher-training program. A logical beginning for an exploration of the information literacy issue is an exami- nation of the attitudes of college faculty at teacher-training institutions. Teacher- education faculty are important partici- pants in the ongoing examination and re- form of teacher-training curricula. Awareness of their views on the role of li- brary training in the curriculum is essen- tial to understanding the interrelatedness of library skills instruction and the devel- opment of higher-level thinking skills. 5 SCOPE OF STUDY The present study focuses on faculty in elementary-education teacher-training programs in Ohio for several reasons. The state of Ohio hosts a great variety of public and private institutions that can be viewed as representative of teacher-education programs nationally. The curriculum for elementary-education majors includes January 1987 primarily education courses, where stu- dents have contact with education depart- ment faculty; in contrast, secondary edu- cation students are more likely to encounter library skills in their subject- related coursework. In addition, since li- brary skills instruction in the schools be- gins at the elementary-school level, those teachers and the teacher-training faculty play an important role in the successful development of these skills. METHODOLOGY The following questions form the basis of the study: 1. How do faculty perceive library in- struction and its proper role in the teacher-training curriculum? 2. Who should be primarily responsible for library instruction in the teacher- training curriculum? 3. What library skills are needed by graduates of teacher-training programs? 4. What library skills are needed by elementary-school pupils? Who should be responsible for library instruction in the elementary schools? Additional data were gathered on the availability of library instruction pro- grams, the types of research projects nor- mally assigned to undergraduate stu- dents, and faculty assessment of the adequacy of their students' library re- search skills. Responses to each question were cross tabulated by a number of variables related to faculty and institutional characteristics to reveal significant differences in atti- tude. The faculty variables included aca- demic rank, years of college-teaching ex- perience, years of elementary school-teaching experience, and approxi- mate number of elementary-education students taught per year (all self- reported). Institutional characteristics ex- amined were type of sponsorship (private or state-supported institution), size (num- ber of full-time students during the 1983-84 academic year), type of education programs available (undergraduate only and/or graduate), and approximate num- ber of students graduating from the teacher-training program during the 1983-84 academic year (reported by fac- ulty returning survey forms). In the fol- lowing discussion, relevant differences in attitude by variable are described. In an attempt to elicit responses from as many different kinds of teacher-training programs in Ohio as possible, the chair of the education department at each school was contacted by mail and asked to verify a list of current, full-time permanent fac- ulty active in teaching elementary- education courses. Of the 45 colleges and universities contacted initially, 43 had at least one faculty member who fit the crite- ria. During January 1985, survey forms were mailed to each of the 328 faculty identi- fied. At least one faculty member at 38 of the 43 schools completed the question- naire, making the institutional response rate 84%. A profile of the colleges and uni- versities represented in this study and of the individual faculty responding is pre- sented in table 1. The survey form was designed to elicit demographic information from respon- dents. All faculty receiving a form were asked to complete at least the first three questions so that information on the char- acteristics of nonrespondents could be as- sessed for differences from the group completing the survey. The initial mailing Library Skills, Critical Thinking 19 of 328 surveys was followed by a second one to a random sample of those not re- sponding to the first request. In the first round, 196 of 328 forms were returned, and 151 of these were completed fully. In the second mailing of 75 questionnaires, 30 were returned, 24 of which were fully answered. Results of these two mailings were analyzed separately, but no signifi- cant differences between the two groups were noted. Those who returned survey forms as re- quested, but chose not to participate, were asked to indicate reasons for their choice. Of the 51 individuals in this category, 76% did not complete the questionnaire be- cause they did not fit the criteria stated in the cover letter. The remaining 24% chose not to participate for other reasons. Analy- sis of demographic characteristics of non- respondents, as self-reported, reveal a group with significantly fewer years of el- ementary school-and college-teaching ex- perience than the respondents. A total of 175 forms out of 328 sent were fully completed, for an individual re- sponse rate of 53.4%. However, the ad- justed response rate (the response rate re- calculated to account for the 39 individuals who did not meet the initial criteria) was 60.6%. Five of the 175 forms completed TABLE 1 PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Institutional Characteristics [n = 38] Faculty Characteristics [n = 170]* SponsorshiE Rank Private schools 54.1% Assistant professor 25.3% State-supported schools 45.9% Associate professor 37.95% Full professor 36.75% Enrollment Years of college teaching experience Under 1,000 students 17.65% 10 or fewer 29.4% 1,000-10,000 students 37.65% 11-17 42.4% Over 10,000 students 44.7% 18 or more 28 .2% Program type : Years of elementary teaching experience Undergraduate only 35.3% 5 or fewer 38.2% Undergraduate/ graduate 64 .7% 6-10 30.6% 11 or more 31.1% Number of elementary-education students graduating 1983-84* Number of elementary- education students taught per year 30 or fewer 44.7% 50 or fewer 34.7% 31-100 30.6% 51-120 39.4% 101 or more 24.7% 121 or more 25.8% *Faculty characteristics and number of elementary-education students graduating are self-reported. 20 College & Research Libraries could not be analyzed because of errors. The survey results were presented in fre- quency tables and chi-square analyses of cross-tabulations using the SAS statistical analysis program. RESULTS I. The Role of Library Instruction A number of questions in the survey ad- dressed aspects of the usefulness of li- brary instruction and its proper role in the teacher-training curriculum. Four ques- tions concerning the need for elementary- education students to learn library re- search skills and the possible effects of such instruction were presented in Likert scale format. Table 2 shows the frequency distribution of responses to these ques- tions. Respondents clearly agreed that instruc- tion in library skills should be a part of the teacher-training program and that such instruction would enhance the future teacher's ability to foster elementary- school pupils' research skill development. No significant differences in response to questions 4, 12, and 24 were noted for any of the variables tested. Respondents were divided nearly evenly, however, in their attitudes toward the importance of utilizing instructor- presented information as opposed to rely- ing on the ability of the student to gener- ate information independently through January 1987 research (question 5). When responses to this question were analyzed by selected variables relating to faculty characteristics and institutional size, significant vari- ations became apparent. Table 3 presents these results. Almost one-fifth of all respondents were undecided on the options presented in question 5. Not surprisingly, those with the fewest years of college- or elementary school-teaching experience and those ranking below full professor were less likely than others either to agree or to dis- agree with the statement presented in this question. When analysis controlled for years of elementary school-teaching expe- rience was summarized, almost half of those with substantial elementary-school classroom field experience (11 or more years) strongly supported the view that teacher trainees should possess indepen- dent research abilities. :Responses from those teaching at Ohio's largest institu- tions, which are generally state- supported, tended to agree with the no- tion that the ability to digest and use information presented by the instructor is more important than the ability to locate information. In contrast, those teaching in smaller, generally private institutions rec- ognized research ability as more impor- tant. What should be the ideal first priority or goal of teacher-training programs? This is- TABLE2 ROLE OF LIBRARY RESEARCH SKILLS INSTRUCTION IN THE CURRICULUM Respondents asked to indicate degree of agreement with statements below. [n = 170) Agree/ Disagree/ Strongly Strongly No A~ee Undecided Disa~ee res:eonse Q.4 Undergraduate students in elementary-education 97.1% 1.8% 1.1% 0.0% programs should learn to do research in their field using library resources. Q .5 Utilizin3J information presented in classroom lee- 40.0% 18.8% 38.3% 2.9% tures, rea ings, and discussions in projects is more important than the ability to do library research. . Q.12 The element~-school teacher-training curricu- 75.9% 15.9% 7.7% 0.5% lum should inclu e formal instruction in research skills. Q.24 Elementary schoolteachers will be better Jlre- 85 .9% 8.8% 4.1% 1.2% pared to help students learn library research sk· s if they have received formal instruction themselves during the teacher-training program. Library Skills, Critical Thinking 21 TABLE 3 IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARY RESEARCH SKILLS BY SELECTED FACULTY AND INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Respondents asked to indicate degree of agreement with the statement: " Utilizing information ,.presented in classroom lectures, read- ings, and discussions in projects is more important than the ability to perform library research . [Row percentages are listed] Strong?' Strongly Combined% Agree Disagree/ No in Each AS!ee Undecided DisaS!ee Res~nse Total Catego:.z: Academic Rank [n = 165] Asst. professor 33.3 23.8 40.5 2.4 100.0 25.3 Assoc . professor 41.3 23.8 30.2 4.7 100.0 37.9 Full ~rofessor 41.0 11.5 45.9 1.6 100.0 36.8 Com ined* 39.2 19.3 38.5 3.0 100.0 100.0 Years of College Teaching ExJ]eri- ence [n = 17 10 or fewer 34.0 24.0 40.0 2.0 100.0 29.4 11-17 43.1 15.3 38.9 2.7 100.0 42.4 18 or more 41.7 18.7 35.4 4.2 100.0 28.2 Combined 40.0 18.8 38.3 2.9 100.0 100.0 Years of Elemen- tary-School Teach- ing Ex~eriencet [n = 17] 5 or fewer 38.5 26.1 35.4 0.0 100.0 38.2 6-10 50.0 15.4 30.8 3.8 100.0 30.6 11 or more 32.1 13.2 49.1 5.6 100.0 30.6 Combined 40.0 18.8 38.3 2.9 100.0 100.0 Institutional Sizet [n = 170] Fewer than 1,000 26.6 16.7 46.7 10.0 100.0 17.6 1,000-10,000 students 39.1 17.2 43.7 0.0 100.0 37.7 More than 10,000 46.1 21.0 30.3 2.6 100.0 44.7 Combined 40.0 18.8 38.3 2.9 100.0 100.0 *Percentages differ from combined figures for other variables since fewer individuals answering this question also indicated their academic rank. tDifferences by years of elementary-school teaching experience and by institutional size are statistically significant. sue was addressed by another question, which asked respondents to rank several options. Almost one-fifth, or 18.1% of all respondents, indicated that programs should aim first to convey specific facts, concepts, and methods to students. Two- thirds, or 66 .3% of those responding, indi- cated that the ideal first priority of teacher- training programs should be to teach students lifelong or independent-learning skills. The remaining 15.6% chose there- sponse ''neither of the above.'' No differ- ences in response based on faculty or insti- tutional characteristics were noted. Respondents were also asked to rank a list of statements on ways in which library research ability could benefit future teach- ers. Two-thirds, or 66.2% of respondents, ranked as most important that teachers with these skills will be better able to solve job-related problems and devise effective programs. One-fourth, or 25.4%, chose as most significant the statement that teach- ers will be better prepared to teach re- search skills to their students. A small number, 7.7%, saw research ability as an aid to further graduate study in their field. Only 1 individual indicated that no signifi- cant benefits result from improved library skills. While respondents to question 24 (see table 2) clearly agreed that formal in- struction in library skills would enhance teachers' abilities to foster these same skills in their students, the majority of re- spondents saw this benefit as less signifi- cant than enhancement of the teacher's 22 College & Research Libraries ability to solve job-related problems. II. Responsibility for Development of Library Skills Respondents clearly agreed that library skills instruction benefits teacher trainees and should be provided in the elementary-education program. The question of how education students should develop these skills was the focus of several survey items. Faculty were asked, in one question, to indicate whether library skills instruction is a part of the elementary-school teacher- training curriculum at their institutions. Almost 9% indicated that they did not know whether this type of instruction was offered. Faculty at the largest, state- supported schools most frequently re- sponded in this way (17 .1%). While 25.9% of those answering indicated that their in- stitutions had a library research skills in- struction program for all elementary- education students, 33.3% of those from the smallest, privately supported schools indicated presence of an instruction pro- gram for all education students. Over half of all respondents, 54.7%, indicated that library skills instruction was up to the in- dividual instructors at their institutions. Faculty were also asked for their opin- ions on who should be responsible for helping education students acquire library skills. A small number responded that stu- dents should acquire these skills on their own (7 .1%) or should have such skills on entering college (8.5%). Almost half of all respondents, 49.6%, indicated that librari- ans should be primarily responsible for re- search skill development, while 34.8% of respondents indicated that the classroom instructor should assume this responsibil- ity. When results were examined for vari- January 1987 ation by faculty or institutional character- istics, assistant professors and those teaching larger numbers of students were found to favor librarian responsibility for instruction more frequently than the aver- age. Those professors with substantial college-teaching experience (18 or more years) viewed research skills instruction as primarily the instructor's responsibil- ity. Finally, faculty were asked to indicate preferences for type of library skills in- struction. Of those responding to this question, only a small number (3.4%) indi- cated that formal instruction was not needed. The remaining response was di- vided among three options: 30.9% indi- cated that instruction should be provided within each individual course, by the in- structor; 29.5% favored classroom presen- tations, done by librarians; and 25.5% pre- ferred a separate skills course, taught by a librarian. Only 10.7% of respondents indi- cated preference for a separate course taught by an instructor. Thus, the major- ity favored some type of librarian- presented instruction. No significant vari- ations in response by faculty or institu- tional characteristics were apparent. III. Research Skills of Education Students Responses to questions concerning types of research projects assigned, as- sessment of students' research abilities, and opinions about types of research skills needed by teacher trainees are summa- rized in this section. Table 4 describes the types of research projects frequently assigned by faculty. Only those who assign projects requiring library use were asked to respond to this item. One-third; or 33.6% of all survey re- TABLE4 TYPES OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS FREQUENTLY ASSIGNED Pro "ect Short term paper (to ten pages) Research paper (more than ten pages) Literature review Annotated bibliography Book or journal article review Report using statistical data Lower Division [n = 90] 64 .5% 12.2°/o 47.1% 29 .8% 70.0% 15.8% 51.5% 40.9% 52.9% 40.9% 74.3% 24.7% spondents, did not answer this question. It appears that a large number of elementary-education faculty surveyed ei- ther do not require independent research projects or do so very infrequently. Those who do assign research projects favor as- signment of book or journal article re- views, short term papers, and literature reviews. Much less frequently assigned are analytical or interpretive projects, e.g., annotated bibliographies, lengthy re- search papers, and statistical reports. Respondents to the question above were asked several other questions relat- ing to their students' library skills. Faculty who assign research projects were asked whether they assume that their students know how to use library resources. Over half (52.3%) indicated that they did not as- sume this prior knowledge among lower- division students, while 45.9% indicated that they did. For upper-division stu- dents, most faculty (75.4%) assumed that students can use library resources effec- tively, while 23.9% did not make this as- sumption. Respondents apparently be- lieve that entering students have low knowledge of techniques of library use, but that at some point in their training, they acquire the necessary skills. Faculty were also asked to indicate whether, based on evaluation of their re- search assignments, they would say that students in their classes have adequate li- brary skills. For lower-division students, 64.5% of those responding answered no to this question and 28.2% answered yes. For upper-division students, the faculty Library Skills, Critical Thinking 23 satisfaction level increased, with 49.3% of respondents reporting adequate student abilities and 44.2% indicating inadequate skills. Apparently the assumption by al- most half of the respondents that their lower-division students can handle library research projects is not borne out by exam- ination of the students' research projects. Similarly, for upper-level students, expec- tation exceeds the reality of results, though more upper-division students ap- parently conduct satisfactory research. Finally, respondents' attitudes about the specific types of research skills needed by teacher trainees are reported in table 5. The "research skills" enumerated here re- flect a broad definition of this concept. The individual skills listed in table 5 include those most commonly associated with li- brary instructional efforts (skills 2,3,5,6) as well as several "critical-thinking" skills (skills 1,4), which may be seen as a neces- sary part of the research process but are of- ten not addressed directly in library skills instruction. In the author's view, the information-finding process cannot reach a successful conclusion and will not result in a satisfactory research product unless the information seeker can clearly concep- tualize the research question and see pat- terns or relationships among types of in- formation found. As table 5 demonstrates, respondents recognized the importance of the ability to conceptualize the research process by ranking it first in a forced ranking of skills. Yet in a later question, which asked fac- ulty to select from all of the listed skills TABLE 5 TYPES OF RESEARCH SKILLS Essential Should Be Ranked Skills %Ranking forElem . Formally [n = 170] Item no.l Schoolteachers Tau12ht 1. Ability to conceptualize research problems clearly and 23.5% 58.8% 51.8% determine questions to be answered. 18.8% 80.6% 66.5% 2. Ability to use reference sources (encyclopedias, in- dexes, etc.). . 65.9% 3. Abilith to devise and carry out an or~anized plan 15.3% 72.9% (searc strate~) to find relevant information on a topic. 63.5% 4. Ability to synt esize information gathered from many 12.9% 78.2% sources. 5. Familiarity with important journals in the field. 12.9% 74.7% 67.7% 6. Ability to evaluate quality or authority. 8.3% 69.4% 58.8% N onresEondents * 8.3% 0.0% 0.0% *Nonrespondents include some individuals who assigned the same rank to several items. 24 College & Research Libraries those that are essential for future teachers to possess, this skill was the one least fre- quently chosen. Respondents also chose the conceptualization process least often when ranking the skills that should be for- mally taught in the teacher-training pro- gram. There are several possible explanations for these apparently contradictory atti- tudes. Some respondents might view the ability to conceptualize well as important for those conducting scholarly research but less critical for elementary school- teachers, who are not essentially "re- searchers" in the traditional academic context but rather "practitioners" for whom sophisticated research skills are less relevant than other attributes. The results indicated in table 5 might also re- flect a rather different view on the interre- latedness of the skills listed than that pre- sented by this writer. The following discussion of research skills instruction in the elementary-school setting provides additional data related to the issue of ana- lytical or conceptual research skills in- struction. IV. Research Skills for Elementary-School Students January 1987 by school librarians, and second, the skills that should ideally be taught to the pupils. There was little variation in response to these questions by faculty or institutional variables. Respondents indicated that conceptual/analytical skills (item D) and search strategy skills (item E) are, in their view, least frequently taught to elementary-school pupils. These same skills were clearly considered by respon- dents to be an important part of the library skills instruction process, although the ability to conceptualize well was indicated somewhat less frequently than the others listed. Several other questions were designed to assess faculty attitudes toward the issue of responsibility for library skills instruc- tion in the elementary-school setting. Fac- ulty were asked who should be primarily responsible for teaching library skills to elementary-school pupils. One-fifth of the respondents indicated that the classroom teacher should have primary responsibil- ity for this instruction, an.d almost one- fifth (18.8%) chose the school libra- rian/media specialist. Approximately three-fifths, or 61.2%, favored sharing the · responsibility between teacher and librar- ian. More than 80% of respondents indi- The survey also included some ques- cated that the classroom teacher should be tions asking respondents to indicate atti- involved in some way in the instruction tudes about the types of research skills process. needed by elementary-school pupils, the If classroom teachers should be in- role of the classroom teacher in the re- volved in fostering library skills develop- search skills instruction process, and the ment in pupils, how well prepared are ability of current teacher trainees to pro- they for this task? Respondents were vide instruction. Table 6 shows the re- asked if they agreed with the statement sponse to two questions that asked faculty that after graduating from an Ohio to indicate, first, the research skills that, in teacher-training program, certified ele- their opinion, are most frequently taught mentary schoolteachers are adequately to elementary-school pupils by teachers or prepared to teach their students library re- TABLE6 RESEARCH SKILLS FOR ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL PUPILS [Percentages indicate the positive responses to each item) Taught to Elementary-school Pupils [n = 165) Research Skills A. How to use the card catalog B. How to use encyclopedias and indexes C. How to find books m the library D. How to analyze information needs, frame questions to be an- swered. E. How to search systematically different kinds of sources to answer questions. 90.3% 88.4% 92.1% 19.1% 24.2% Ideally Taught to Elementary-school Pupils [n = 168) 99.4% 99.4% 99.4% 95.0% 98.2% search skills. Nearly one-third, or 29.6% of respondents, were undecided. Almost half, or 48.2%, disagreed or strongly dis- agreed with this statement. The remain- ing 22.2% of respondents indicated agree- ment or strong agreement. DISCUSSION The survey results described here pro- vide some early insights into attitudes of teacher-training faculty regarding library skills development. These results also serve as signposts, pointing the way to is- sues deserving further study. While de- velopment of future teachers' research skills is clearly seen as a worthwhile enter- prise, some ambivalence over the role of that development is apparent. Respon- dents strongly indicated that teaching of independent-learning skills should be the first priority of the teacher-training curric- ulum, but split on the question of whether the ability to utilize information presented by instructors is more important than the ability to find information independently through library work. Those faculty with the most elementary-school teaching ex- perience strongly favored development of education students' research abilities. While many librarians assume that information-finding skills are an impor- . tant aspect of lifelong learning skills, it ap- pears that some faculty do not recognize this relationship. Further study of the ele- ments of independent-learning skills as viewed by elementary schoolteachers and teacher-education faculty would provide a basis for dialogue between educators and librarians on this important issue. Respondents indicated that grasp of li- brary research skills enhances both the teacher's ability to solve job-related prob- lems and to teach these skills to pupils ef- fectively. Yet half of all respondents also view current graduates of Ohio teacher- training programs as inadequately pre- pared to teach these skills to their stu- dents. Most favored teacher involvement in the learning process. Problem analysis was viewed as the most important of the specific research skills listed, but was se- lected least frequently as a skill essential for future elementary schoolteachers, or one that should be formally taught in the Library Skills, Critical Thinking 25 teacher-training program. Do the atti- tudes expressed here reflect a double stan- dard regarding skills needed by practi- tioners in the elementary-school classroom and those conducting scholarly research? A closer look at the activities of classroom teachers as researchers and as consumers of research is needed to clarify this question. At the college level, almost half of there- spondents favored librarian involvement in teaching research skills to elementary- education students. Faculty at larger insti- tutions and those beginning their aca- demic careers indicated the strongest preference for the librarian as teacher of li- brary research skills. At the elementary- school level, respondents strongly fa- vored teacher involvement in the research skills learning process. Respondents also indicated that analytical or conceptualiza- tion skills and search strategy or planning skills should be taught to elementary- school pupils as a part of the research pro- cess. These same skills were described earlier in this report as some of the higher order, critical-thinking skills that educa- tional reform strategists believe are crucial to the improvement of schooling. If the development of analytical and planning skills is essential for elementary-school pupils, and if elementary schoolteachers should be involved in this process, then why do teacher-education faculty view development of these research skills as pe- ripheral to the teacher-education process? These apparently contradictory attitudes merit further study for clarification. Insuring the development of critical- thinking skills in elementary-school pu- pils requires the involvement of classroom teachers at each step of the learning pro- cess. In order to play such a vital role in fostering analytical skills, the elementary schoolteacher must have acquired these same abilities. The skills involved in per- forming library research are the critical- . thinking skills cited in current educational reports: identifying, analyzing, planning, locating, evaluating, and interrelating in- formation. Teaching this process to future teachers can, ultimately, improve the critical-thinking abilities of elementary- school students. 26 College & Research Libraries This study demonstrates that teacher- education faculty support teaching of the library research process, but apparently do not view the development of library skills as necessarily related to the develop- ment of critical-thinking skills. Further study of faculty and teacher attitudes to- ward the research process and toward the relationship of library skills to critical- thinking skills would contribute in an im- January 1987 portant way to effective reform of the teacher-training curriculum. If teacher- education reform incorporates effective research skills training, then students in elementary and secondary schools in turn will develop more effective library skills, and the plaintive cry of the college instruc- tion librarian will no longer echo across the campus. REFERENCES 1. Ohio Commission on Educational Excellence, Responsible Reform: Focusing on the Future (Columbus, Ohio: The Commission, 1983), p.S. 2. For one discussion of library research as a problem-solving task that involves the skills identified as higher-order skills, see Cerise Oberman, "Guided Design: Teaching Library Research as Problem- Solving," in Theories of Bibliographic Education, ed. Cerise Oberman and Katina Strauch (New York: Bowker, 1982), p .111-13. 3. James W. Liesener, "Learning at Risk : School Library Media Programs in an Information World," in Libraries and the Learning Society: Papers in Response to A Nation at Risk (Chicago : American Library Assn., 1984), p.79. 4. Ibid., p.89. 5. No published studies relating to this topic were found in a survey of the educational and library literature. There is an unpublished doctoral dissertation on the subject. See Camilla Ann Alire, "A Nationwide Survey of Education Doctoral Students' Attitudes Regarding the Importance of the Library and the Need for Bibliographic Instruction" (Ed.D. diss., Univ. of Northern Colorado, 1984).