Students’ Perceptions of Information Literacy at two South African Universities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out students’ perceptions of the information literacy intervention programme at two Universities in a developing country. The study adopted a survey research method in which both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data about how students perceived information literacy in relation to its contribution to improved academic performance. Results show that students perceived information literacy as very relevant to their academic success. The respondents indicated that they gain skills on how to find and use information in all formats to address their day to day assignments. This study reveals the connection between information literacy provision and how it can improve students’ academic success. However, for the connection to be successful, there is a need for all campus stakeholders to work together both in the development, delivery and assessment of information literacy programmes. This study provides a further dimension on how students perceive information literacy in relation to their academic success, an area which has been hardly researched particularly in a developing country such as South Africa. This therefore helps to add depth to the limited literature on students’ perceptions about information literacy