| The purpose of this study was to explore ways in which instructional librarians can use critical pedagogy to improve their instructional practices. A critical theory perspective was utilized to examine a proposal by librarians to establish information literacy as a goal of their instruction. The review of literature yielded no evidence that librarians had developed this proposal with awareness of the considerable debates that encircle the notion of literacy. Researchers had not studied library instruction in developmental education classes in community colleges. To remedy this lack of research, the researcher participated in a study skills class at a community college for one quarter.; A critical action research model was selected to guide the study. This qualitative model establishes a cycle of planning, observing, acting, and reflecting, in order to combine action and reflection to improve practice. Students were observed for one week to discover their abilities and interests, a curriculum was designed based on these observations, and the curriculum was implemented, and its effectiveness evaluated. Students were also interviewed regarding their life situations, information seeking behaviors, and political beliefs.; Findings indicated that students responded positively to a critical pedagogy. However, students remained uninterested in library research even when they selected research topics of personal interest. Dialogical discussions in the classroom interested students, but did not succeed in changing oppositional behaviors, such as absenteeism, that students adopted to combat lack of control over their schooling. Although students were naively skeptical of most information from the government, mass media was a dominant determinant of their attitudes and beliefs, reflecting the disabling beliefs of dominant society.; If librarians wish to teach students to be truly critical, self-aware, and transform the world, critical pedagogy offers them a potent theory and practice on which to base their instruction. |
