Evidence Summary
Disadvantaged Youth in Southern Scotland Experience Greater
Barriers to Information Access Resulting from Poor Technology Skills,
Information Literacy, and Social Structures and Norms
A Review of:
Buchanan, S., & Tuckerman, L. (2016). The information behaviours of
disadvantaged and disengaged adolescents. Journal of Documentation, 72(3),
527-548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2015-0060
Reviewed by:
Heather Coates
Digital Scholarship &
Data Management Librarian
University Library
Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Indianapolis, Indiana,
United States of America
Email: [email protected]
Received: 1 Sept. 2016 Accepted: 14 Oct.
2016
2016 Coates.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
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Abstract
Objective – To describe
the information behaviours of adolescents living in disadvantaged and disengaged
circumstances in relation to social integration and self-efficacy.
Design – Mixed methods
design using observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups.
Setting – Public
agencies offering drop-in support services for employment and training at three
locations in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Subjects – Adolescents
aged 16-20 not in education, employment, or training (NEET status) seeking
public agency support services in South Ayrshire, Scotland; and public agency
support workers.
Methods – The South
Ayrshire region was identified using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
(2012) and selected because nearly 20% of the region fell into the most
deprived decile. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling of NEET
youth attending drop-in support groups. Over a period of 4 weeks, the 36 NEET
youth attending these sessions were observed regarding their information
behaviours, social interactions, and experiences with support workers.
Following observation, the investigator used the critical incident technique
during interviews to discuss real life scenarios and needs with 15
participants. One focus group of four interview participants was held to
explore how groups discuss information behaviours. An information resource
sorting activity was used as a discussion prompt. To gain further insight into
the information needs, sources used, and barriers experienced by the
adolescents who sought support, six support workers were also interviewed.
These data were analyzed using iterative deductive coding and thematic
analysis.
Main Results – Internet
usage of participants is similar to general population peers, with general
browsing, social networking, and music and gaming usage as the most popular
activities. Information needs included employment, education, and training such
as finding appropriate job vacancies, identifying employer addresses and
contact details, and accessing public transportation schedules. Other personal
needs such as financial, health, and housing were identified. Some of these
information needs were unmet, which could have implications for their
wellbeing. Approximately one third of the interview participants described
challenges identifying or meeting needs.
Teens frequently rely on people as sources of
information, preferring face-to-face interactions. They turn to family,
friends, and support workers for information as important members of their
social network who listen and “usually have the answer.” Other frequently used
sources include the Internet and television news. A third of the interview
participants described scenarios in which they used multiple sources – the
Internet, family and friends, books and leaflets, and local youth clubs and
health clinics. A majority of interview participants (73%) did not use the
public library because they were not interested (“I don’t read books”) or
thought there was nothing there for them. Of the four who used public
libraries, none considered themselves regular users. Focus group participants
rated support workers and television news as having high credibility, friends
and family as having low credibility, and the Internet as having medium
credibility.
The information seeking behaviours of NEET teens are
often passive and non-motivated, with abandonment and incompletion occurring
frequently. Many observation participants appeared visibly withdrawn and were
reluctant or unable to engage in discussion with support workers. Throughout
the study, participants demonstrated an unwillingness to engage in lengthy
discussions. Support workers noted that attendees rely on them to find the
information, evaluate it, and give the teens advice about what to do next.
Participants exhibited bonding social capital with family and friends, though
evidence for bridging social capital was found only with support workers. These
adolescents appear to be relatively isolated and have more inward-facing social
capital, which puts them at risk for social exclusion.
Though nearly two thirds of interview participants
reported no barriers to finding information, evidence from observations and
support worker interviews suggest that deficits in technology and literacy
skills are substantial. Despite assistance from support workers, NEET youth
often abandoned tasks before completing them due to literacy and technological
barriers. Support workers described a variety of barriers to meeting
information needs: home life, isolation, literacy and access, institutional
regulations, motivation, lack of confidence, and poor social skills. Common
circumstances relating to motivation are familial unemployment, substance abuse
issues, and inability to focus.
Conclusion – NEET youth
faced increased access and behavioural barriers beyond those of typical
adolescents. Access barriers are influenced by technology and literacy skills
deficits, while behavioural barriers are influenced by social structures.
Considering the range of personal needs expressed to support workers in
combination with pervasive barriers to information, further study of everyday
information needs is warranted. Public and third sector (e.g., typically
voluntary and community organizations, associations, etc.) agencies should make
remedial literacy education a priority. Since the perception of public
libraries is poor, librarians should collaborate with third sector agencies to
develop tailored outreach and services to build sustained relationships with
these disengaged adolescents. Generally, these adolescents exhibit
self-protective behaviours (e.g., deception, risk-taking, secrecy) in seeking
out information as well as situation relevance of information sources and
inward-facing social networks, all of which suggest they live in an
impoverished information environment.
Commentary
This study examines an unstudied population of users –
adolescents who are not currently students. As the first study, the authors use
concepts from social network theory, social capital, and information behaviours
to develop a theoretical framework that describes the factors influencing the
information seeking behaviours of teens in Scotland. Additionally, it places
information behaviours and information literacy within the context of authentic
social, personal, and technological barriers. This is an important early
exploration of a complex but everyday issue.
The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative
Research (COREQ), a list of criteria for reporting qualitative interviews, was
used to evaluate this study (Tong, Sainsbury, & Craig, 2007). The strength
of this study lies in the design. The use of three methods to gather data
representing three perspectives (adolescent, support worker, and investigator)
on the information seeking behaviours of NEET adolescents offers triangulation.
Although there are gaps in the reporting, the design is thoughtful and takes
into account the particular challenges in studying this population.
The reporting is less robust for the description of
the research team (domain 1) and analysis and findings (domain 3; Tong et al.,
2007). The specific roles of each author and their training and credentials are
not provided. It is also unclear whether the investigators established
relationships with the participants and shared information about the study’s
purpose. Although the methods for developing the theoretical framework and designing
the study are clearly described, procedures for recruitment and analysis are
not. Further description of the coding scheme along with examples would be
valuable for evaluation and replication studies. As a qualitative study, the
findings may not generalize to adolescents in other regions or countries or
teens who do not seek out public services.
Despite some reporting gaps, the authors provide
compelling evidence to suggest that these teens are living in an impoverished
information environment. It is an excellent first step towards documenting the
information needs and behaviours of adolescents seeking employment and training
outside the traditional educational system. We simply do not have an adequate
understanding of the information seeking needs and behaviours, as well as the
interplay between social networks, in teens. Future studies could adapt this
study model for examining local populations of teens receiving support
services. It would be particularly interesting to combine this rich qualitative
approach with a broader survey of teens across Europe and North America to
compare information needs, sources, and perceptions of public libraries. The
value of public libraries in fostering community engagement is not yet well
documented. Neither do we understand how to recognize and prevent
disengagement, which is often reliant on apparent failure to meet societal
expectations, such as dropping out of school or being unemployed. Considering
the participants’ perception of public libraries, there is tremendous potential
value in situating information literacy training within the context of other
job and life skills training opportunities. As public libraries increasingly
serve as community anchors, it is also worth considering how programs can
foster community engagement of disadvantaged youth as much as they develop
their digital and information literacy skills.
References
Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria
for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-item checklist for interviews
and focus groups. International Journal
of Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349-357 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042