An Empirical Investigation of Student Learning Outcomes of Information Literacy Instruction in a Business School

This study presents and tests a research model of the psychological, behavioral, and benefit outcomes of information literacy instruction (ILI) given to undergraduate business students. This model is based on expectation disconfirmation theory and insights garnered from a recent qualitative investigation by the research team on student learning outcomes from ILI given at three business schools in Canada. The model was tested through a web survey administered to 372 students at one of these schools. The model represents psychological, behavioral, and benefit outcomes as second-order molecular constructs. Results from a Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis reveal that prior student expectations influence perceived quality and expectation disconfirmations. These in turn affect student psychological outcomes. Further, psychological outcomes influence student behaviors, which in turn affect benefit outcomes. Based on the study’s findings, several recommendations are made.