Breaking down the barriers: the place of gender equity in the ILS curriculum

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Goulding, Anne^{; 1} | Cleeve, Marigold

Affiliations: Department of Information and Library Studies, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 3TU, UK

Note: [1] A version of this paper was originally presented at the IFLA Round Table on Women's Issues, Copenhagen, 2nd September, 1997.

Abstract: Women may numerically dominate the information professional, but powerful positions in administration and management are dominated by men. Various explanations and solutions have been proposed for this state of affairs but the issue of how the information and library studies (ILS) curriculum contributes to, or could help remedy matters has not been investigated. Drawing on a national survey of lecturers and students in UK departments of ILS, this paper explores the extent to which ILS curricula include consideration of gender issues and equity. Starting from the premise that lecturers in higher education have a vital role to play in transforming the beliefs and values of those they teach, this paper examines how the curriculum can be developed to raise students' awareness of equity issues. It is argued that women's attitudes towards their careers can be positively influenced by their formative experiences at departments of ILS which have a responsibility to encourage students to analyze critically their personal, and especially their professional, experiences.

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-1998-16401

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 295-314, 1998