Competência informacional: aprendizado individual ao longo da vida

Abstract

The methodology used in this research was Grounded Theory. the theoretical fundamental considered papers published on the subject or related to it during the period between 1968 and 2012, in three languages (Portuguese, Spanish and English), which were published in various countries such as USA, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, Chile, Portugal, Brazil and Egypt. References, standards and concepts were extracted and subsequently grouped by similarity, generating three categories: knowledge, skills and attitudes. The categories and their conceptual descriptions formed the basis for the data collection questionnaire.

The results revealed a high percentage of agreement, with variations between 83% and 100%, indicating that information literacy is the result of a process of lifelong learning that incorporates not only the learning of knowledge but as well as the learning of skills and attitudes. This process is composed of three broad categories (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes) that support concepts and patterns that evolve cumulatively, so that, each new learning adds to previously acquired learning, thus preparing the individual for solving more complex problems.

At the end of the research it was observed that the initial expectation of finding the courses or training as being the main source for this type of learning was indeed wrong, and it ranked in third place, behind the personal effort (first place) and the learning that occurs at work or with specialists (second place). This result highlights the importance of self motivation and self determination for learning that leads to the achievement of information literacy. The thesis proposes a theoretical model about information literacy and the different types of learning experienced by members of the samples (pretest and test).