Information literacy for school education

InformAll is supporting an initiative to encourage the recognition of information literacy (IL) as a key pillar of school education in the UK. We are one of the initial signatories to a call for expressions of interest to identify stakeholders wishing to see the school curriculum evolve so that IL becomes an integral part of it.

This is an ambitious undertaking. We are calling for the development of school education policies and practices that foster inquisitiveness, informed, inquiry-led learning and critical thinking. IL – along with closely aligned concepts such as media literacy, digital literacy, news literacy and critical literacy – is an integral part of this desired outcome. We recognise that the school curriculum is not about to change quickly. We recognise too that the huge disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic mean that educationalists and teachers have their hands more than full right now. But we are living through a time of disruption, and perhaps this is the moment to start reflecting anew on the fundamentals of what we expect from school education.

This initiative is a long-term endeavour. As things stand (March 2021) we have attracted the interest of a wide range of organisations and individuals, from as many perspectives as possible, who share our concerns. Some of these have indicated their willingness to help us take things forward, particularly with finding ways to build our case and make representations to policy-makers and others. By April 2021, we hope to have set out a mission statement and an outline plan for the coming months; we are also starting to work on the creation of a dedicated website. We would still be delighted if like-minded parties would read the call for expressions of interest, which is attached below, along with the growing list of signatories; and on that basis, decide whether to add their names.

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Click here if you’d like to add your name as a signatory.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to be further involved with the development of the initiative, please do not hesitate to contact Stéphane Goldstein at sg@informall.org.uk .