Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership in Essay

Zabel (2004) proposes an alternative solution that does not involve mandatory courses or the separate academic focus on library science as a stand-alone course. Instead, Zabel suggests that academic research requirements in substantive courses be adapted as necessary to ensure an appropriate and beneficial process for teaching research skills and informational literacy but strictly within the framework of substantive courses. The author also points out that it is likely much easier to train professors to emphasize formal research skills in their courses than to train library science professionals to become academic instructors, which she suggests is another element overlooked by Owusu-Ansah (Zabel, 2004).

Acknowledging the Effect of Social Perspective and Cultural Influences:

There are other aspects of modern education that have a natural impact on academic research skills. Specifically, college students are products of their cultures of origin. In the United States, sufficient documentation exists to illustrate the degree to which American college students are generally less globally aware and simply less oriented toward information even outside of the academic environment formal (Lauer & Yodanis, 2004).

The results of the Lauer & Yodanis (2004) study suggest that American students (including nursing students) do not respect the difference between informal research and formal academic research. Even more generally, cultural attitudes prevailing in the U.S. tend to over-emphasize the practical goals of vocational training far above an academically or intrinsically genuine subject matter interest in academic courses of study. In all likelihood, this element further illustrates the importance of adopting an approach such as that suggested by Zabel (2004) on an even longer-term and wider basis than proposed by the author.

Specifically, respect for informational literacy apparently cannot be taught effectively in the short-term, much less through a single required course at the undergraduate level. The Lauer & Yodanis (2004) study suggests that what is required is a greater emphasis on informational literacy and formal academic research throughout American education beginning at the primary and secondary school level. Only in this manner can modern educators ensure that by the time nursing students and other professionals begin their training in American colleges they will approach their academic studies with the same respect for informational accuracy and formal research methodologies as their European and Asian counterparts.

References

Adams, D., Hamm, M. (1994). New Designs for Teaching and Learning: Promoting

Active

Learning in Tomorrow's Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lauer, S.R., Yodanis, C.L. "The International Social Survey Programme (ISSP): A

Tool for Teaching with an International Perspective" Teaching Sociology, Vol.

32: 304-313 (2004).

Schutt, M.A., Hightower, B. "Enhancing RN-to-BSN Students' Information Literacy

Skills Through the Use of Instructional Technology" Journal of Nursing

Education; Vol. 48, No. 2: 101-105…