About Information Management Associates

A: The Changing world of information

A3: Information support for learning

Colleges and universities are faced with increased demands for flexible delivery of courses. This often involves greater numbers of students but without any increase in resources and with reduced budgets and teaching hours.

In response, colleges and universities, as well as many schools, are wrestling with how to provide effective libraries and learning resources to support students. This in turn involves equipping students with the full range of information skills required to live and work in the 21st Century.

We are responding by conducting national research on libraries, resource centres and learning centres alongside our consultancy work and training. All this work is focused on effective support for teaching and learning - the prime educational objective.

Our work makes it clear that effective support for teaching and learning should be seen as context specific. Each approach to curriculum resourcing reveals different strengths and weaknesses and may result in different elements of success and failure.

The UK Government's emerging School Effectiveness agenda is drawing fresh attention to the need for schools and Local Education Authorities to organise curriculum management and performance measurement information more effectively. The Best Value Review programmes now required in Local Authorities is again increasing the concern with good quality performance information.

Our experience in national information research has equipped us to advise on appropriate data gathering methods. Our national research on Best Value and Better Performance has put us at the forefront in understanding the key issues here. We are helping at LEA and school level to make sure that effectiveness criteria and the information gathered both take full account of school priorities.

Contents © Information Management Associates 2000 - 2003

Design © ConnectWorks Ltd. 2000 - 2003