The transferability of library research skills from high school to college

The specific purpose of this research was to investigate three interrelated questions: First, can a program of instruction be developed to teach high school seniors efficient and effective search strategies and information-gathering skills useful to them as college freshmen? Second, can these skills be reflected in a research paper? Third, how can these skills be measured for transferability?A program of instruction was developed and taught by the high school librarian that included the responses and recommendations of 62 college faculty members to a questionnaire on library-related course requirements.Participants in the study, 159 seniors from the college preparatory English classes of two comparable high schools, were divided into one control and one experimental group for a pilot test (Study I) and for a second test (Study II).Students in the experimental groups were given a pre-test on basic college library information knowledge, followed by a series of lessons on the research process, the assignment of a research paper, a post-test on basic college Library information knowledge, and the return of their graded papers, the grading being completed by two college English professors.Students in the control groups were given the pre-test, the research paper assignment, the post-test and the return of the graded papers.A Likert-type attitude scale questionnaire was administered to all high school students, and to the participants in Study I during their first semester in college.High school students receiving the instruction scored significantly higher on the post-test than did students not receiveing the instruction. These skills were reflected in a research paper acceptable at the college freshmen level. College students exposed to the program of instruction indicated they were able to effectively utilize the research skills learned in high school when conducting research to meet course requirements. There were no significant differences between the groups on the attitude scale questionnaire, indicating an inability of this questionnaire to adequately measure the transferability of research skills from high school to college.Finally, the high school librarian became a linking agent between the high school and college libraries, by making the librarian in the research setting approachable.