A contextual model of information literacy

This article reports a contextual model of information literacy (IL) which emerged from an exploratory case study of IL in a joint online distance learning (ODL) Geographic Information Sciences/Systems (GIS) programme and demonstrates how it contributes to the development of information literate GIS learners in ODL environments. Adopting Eisenhardt’s (1989) “process of building theories from case study research”, it explored IL in the context of a wide range of teaching and learning experiences in the programme, using interview, questionnaire, students’ reflection, observation and document study as data collection methods. The two level withinand across-case analysis, suggested by Eisenhardt, were innovatively combined with grounded theory data analysis approaches to analyse the data. It appeared that in the ODL GIS programmes IL is needed, not just as a set of transferable skills, but as an enabler for independent, connective, transferable and lifelong learning.