The lived experience of Minnesota secondary school library media specialists in an era of educational reform: A dual-method investigation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experience of Minnesota school library media specialists during the era of the Profile of Learning, a Minnesota educational reform movement between 1994 and 2003. The Profile of Learning defined ten Learning Areas with matching standards and projects designed to help students meet those standards. The projects were resource-based, influencing high levels of media center activity.; The study used a combination of quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews) methodologies in a hybrid approach to lived experience research to investigate the daily experiences of the media specialists. Among the findings were that instructional and collaborative roles of media specialists increased, administrative and advocacy roles decreased, stress levels among media specialists were high, but stress was defined as "good." The tasks of instruction and collaboration were estimated to be carried out more than any other task. There were gender differences in a few aspects of the media specialists' experiences. Women were more likely to engage in instruction and collaboration than men; men were more likely to be involved in technical support activities and administration and were less likely than women to take work home with them.; While many media specialists reported being very active during the Profile era with instruction and collaboration, the interviews revealed that they had to await opportune moments to offer media center services to teachers who were not accepting of the Profile of Learning nor eager to collaborate. To maintain teacher good will, media specialists had to be supportive of the teachers without being affirming of the Profile.; When the Profile of Learning was dissolved in 2003 and replaced by standards focusing on testing, media specialists became concerned about the future of the media center's role in student education.; Suggestions for future research: investigate the affect of the new standards on media center activity; consider what conditions might promote public relations and advocacy activities; investigate teacher perceptions of media specialists and why they are so reluctant to collaborate, even when conditions support and encourage this activity; and investigate the implications of the gender issues identified in this study.