Developing a Competency Framework for School Librarians to Provide STEM Education

Abstract

This research aimed to develop a draft of a competency framework for school librarians to support STEM education services, to survey the opinions of school administrators, STEM teachers, school librarians, and students regarding the draft, and to evaluate the draft for its effectiveness in supporting school librarians in providing STEM education services. A mixed-methods research approach was employed. The primary data sources consisted of 21 documents and research papers, and the key informants included 30 experts, 15 school administrators, 15 STEM teachers, 15 school librarians, and 15 students. The research instruments consisted of data recording forms, interview forms, questionnaires, and evaluation forms. Data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. The research findings indicated that the competency items for supporting STEM education services provided by school librarians were divided into three areas: knowledge, skills, and personal attributes. The knowledge area included six aspects: STEM education, teaching and learning management, literacy, digital tools, information resources, and relevant laws. The skills were comprised five skills: service provision, activity organization, teaching, collaboration, and digital tool usage. The personal attributes area encompassed seven characteristics: being eager to learn, having a service-oriented mindset, being open-minded, demonstrating creativity, being adaptable, possessing good interpersonal skills, and having a positive attitude. School administrators, STEM teachers, school librarians, and students all agreed that all the competencies were appropriate. When considered by domain, personal characteristics were found to be the most appropriate. For knowledge competencies, literacy was the most appropriate item. For skills competencies, teaching was the most appropriate item. For personal characteristics, open-mindedness was the most appropriate item. Additionally, the research found that experts agreed that all the competency items were appropriate.