University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

“To connect, you have to listen”: Bringing real-world social justice experiences into LIS education

Kociubuk, Jacqueline; Campana, Kathleen; Martin, Michelle H.; Mills, J. Elizabeth

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/123130

Description

Title
“To connect, you have to listen”: Bringing real-world social justice experiences into LIS education
Author(s)
  • Kociubuk, Jacqueline
  • Campana, Kathleen
  • Martin, Michelle H.
  • Mills, J. Elizabeth
Issue Date
2023-09
Keyword(s)
  • Communication
  • Community Engagement
  • Cultural Competency
  • Curriculum
  • Education Programs/schools
  • Field-based Experiences
  • Public Libraries
  • Reflexivity
  • Soft Skills
Abstract
Library and information science (LIS) scholarship has increasingly become aware of disconnects between the traditional curriculum and real-world soft skills employers value in future public library professionals, particularly in regards to being able to engage with underserved communities. To address this gap, MLIS students at two iSchools participated in a field-based social justice assignment that required them to identify an underserved community group they wanted to learn more about, and then collaborate with and interview a member of the group or a community organization that was working with the group. Students completed a written reflection about the experience that the researchers analyzed to understand how a field-based social justice assignment can foster soft skill development for LIS students. Findings indicate that the field-based assignment supported students’ development of three soft skills important for both LIS careers and social justice work: cultural competency, communication, and reflexivity.
Series/Report Name or Number
Proceedings of the ALISE Annual Conference, 2023
Type of Resource
text
Language
eng
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/123130
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21900/j.alise.2023.1256
Copyright and License Information
  • Copyright 2023 Jacqueline Kociubuk, Kathleen Campana, Michelle H. Martin, J. Elizabeth Mills
  • This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

Owning Collections

Proceedings of the ALISE Annual Conference: ALISE 2023 PRIMARY
Bridge the Gap: Teaching, Learning, Practice, and Competencies