Principals and Teachers’ Perspectives of Their School Libraries and Implications for School Library Policy

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that school librarians can make a meaningful contribution to student reading proficiency, learning and academic achievement. This study examines the perspectives of school leaders and teachers in Singapore schools to better understand how they use their school library, their attitudes toward the library collection and environment, and their perception of their library coordinators’ roles. Findings suggest that school leaders and teachers under-utilize the library, perceive it to be mainly a study space for students, feel that the library space and book collection should be improved and were not clear about the roles of their library staff. The study suggests that it is crucial to implement policy and professional development courses to support collaboration between principals, teachers and school librarians.

Keywords:

• School libraries
• librarians
• school leaders and teachers
• learning environment
• collection