The Academic Events Group, 5th Cyprus International Conference on Educational Research,

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Importance of Information Literacy Education for Teacher Candidates
fatma baysen

Last modified: 2016-01-25

Abstract


Information literacy is a concept arised of the requirements of 21 century. This century is called “information age” and those living this age are called “information society”. Information literacy as a concept in general is defined to constitute to realize and define the information requirement, search for it, and find, interpret and utilize it effectively.

In the information age information is accepted as a principle element for a number of areas as politics, economy, technology, science, education and social life. Nowadays those countries using information effectively and value added to it improve fastly and enforce their competiveness. Sustainable improvement for societies depends importantly on peoples’ information literacy skills as well. The principal responsibility for improvement in these skills is on educational institutions. The teachers take a key role in improving the education depending on the conditions of the day and for the future, and to realize information literate people. Thus including preschool and primary school education all subject teachers should be graduated well equiped with information skills besides subject knowledge and occupational proficiencies.

Investigating education faculties’ programs in general it is found that while some courses such as teaching technologies and material design; computer; special teaching methods and scentific research methods courses include some features of information literacy, there is no course including information literacy issues merely. Thus instead of chance factor or using trial and errors to equip the teacher candidates with all information literacy skills comprehensively, it is important to add courses systemically to the higher education programs teaching teacher candidates these skills who are going to transfer and guide their students concerning these skills.

Thus the aim of the present study is to state the importance of information literacy education for the teacher candidates. For this aim the pesent study includes issues of, information literacy concept; fundamental skills for information literacy; information literacy education; importance of information literacy for teacher candidates. Present study followed a comprehensive review to describe the issues concerning information literacy. In the end of the present study depending on the literature, interpretations and recommendations concerning the issue in our country are made.

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