Title: Assessing subjective and objective information literacy at upper secondary schools - an empirical study in four German-speaking countries

Authors: Sabine Seufert; Katarina Stanoevska-Slabeva; Josef Guggemos

Addresses: Institute of Business Education and Educational Management, University of St. Gallen, St. Jakob-Strasse 21, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland ' Institute for Media and Communications Management, University of St. Gallen, Blumenbergplatz 9, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland ' Institute of Business Education and Educational Management, University of St. Gallen, St. Jakob-Strasse 21, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland

Abstract: Information literacy (IL) is a key 21st-century skill. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by specifying the construct of IL. It defines IL and presents a seven-dimensional IL model. On this basis, two types of test instruments are evaluated: a performance test for objective IL (OIL) and a self-assessment instrument for subjective IL (SIL). Both instruments are validated by means of item response theory. We utilise a sample with N = 432 upper secondary students from German-speaking countries. Rasch scalability of the instruments is demonstrated. Reliability equals in the case of OIL for EAP/PV .84 and for WLE .88; in the case of SIL, .75 and .77, respectively. For OIL, we present a proficiency level model to ensure a criterion-based interpretation of test scores. In terms of instructional sensitivity, we provide evidence for a positive influence of students' grade and IL-related content in class on OIL. The correlation between OIL and SIL equals .52.

Keywords: digital natives; information literacy; bifactor model; instructional sensitivity; curriculum-instruction-assessment triad; proficiency level model; secondary education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2020.107666

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2020 Vol.15 No.1, pp.82 - 103

Published online: 04 Jun 2020 *

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