Differentiated competencies for graduate and undergraduate levels: needed transformation of the information study programs

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Rehman, Sajjad ur^a | Karim, Nor Shahriza Abdul^b | Chaudhry, Abdus Sattar^c

Affiliations: [a] Library and Information Science Program, College of Graduate Studies, Kuwait University, Kuwait | [b] Department of Library and Information Science, International Islamic University, Malaysia | [c] Division of Information Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Abstract: A study was conducted to identify sets of competencies which could become the basis for the design of information study programs for the two levels of undergraduate and graduate education. A list of 70 competencies was used to gather responses from the middle and top managers of the Gulf libraries about the manpower needs of the profession in the next five to ten years. The perceptions of the respondents were also collected about different aspects of information studies at the two levels. The results have indicated that the respondents prefer to have the two levels of programs designed differently around specific sets of competencies with an appreciation of the distinct roles the graduates from the two types of programs have to play.

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-1998-16102

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 9-28, 1998