Date
5-22-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Matthew O. Ozolnieks
Keywords
School Libraries, K12 Education, Libraries, Collaboration, Human Performance Technology, Literacy, Information Literacy, Learning
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Jones, Pamela Madina, "Experiences of Educators with Libraries and Educational Technology to Close the Literacy Gap: A Phenomenological Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5604.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5604
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover how educators view the use of school libraries with educational technology’s contribution to the development of literacy skills of learners in K12 learning environments. The theoretical framework that guided this research study was Vygotsky and Leont’ev’s Activity theory. The central research question for this study was How do educators describe their professional experiences with school libraries and educational technology? Purposive and Snowball sampling methods were used to select the sites and the 12 participants located in rural, urban, and suburban K12 public school districts that educate K5 learners across Central Virginia. The participants in the study were building-level educators endorsed in Library/Media PreK-12, Reading, English, or Administration and Supervision in the State of Virginia. Participant journals, semi-structured interview questions, and a focus group were the data collection methods used for this research. The phenomenological approach was used to analyze the data and to ensure triangulation, the processes of horizontalization and coding were used to identify common themes and patterns to identify textural and structural descriptions that led to an understanding of how the lived experiences of educators impact their ability to include school libraries with educational technology as instructional resources in learning environments.
