Young children’s interest-driven information practices
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0037 |
| Published date | 21 July 2022 |
| Date | 21 July 2022 |
| Pages | 371-398 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Sarah Barriage |
Young children’s interest-driven
information practices
Sarah Barriage
School of Information Science, University of Kentucky,
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to explore young children’s information practices within the context of their
individual interests, examiningchildren’s interest-related information activities, challenges encountered and
enablersreceived.
Design/methodology/approach –Participants included 18 children between five and seven years of
age and their parents. Data were collectedusing a multi-stage participatory approach. Childrenshared their
experiences via a bookdiscussion, poster activity, participant-generatedphotography and a photo-elicitation
interview. Parents providedinformation about family demographics and their perceptions of their children’s
individualinterests, information practices and digital media use via questionnaires.Data were analyzed using
the constantcomparative method.
Findings –Young childrenseek information via print and digital objects, other people and experiences,and
use information by applying it to their activities and sharing information with others. Challenges to
information activities include children’s own capabilities and skills, constraints of information sources and
parentalrestrictions on their activities. Enablers includeaffordances of technology and parental support.
Originality/value –This study takes a holistic approachto understanding young children’s perspectives
of their information activities, examining information use and sharing activities in addition to information
seeking.
Keywords Information seeking, Information use, Young children, Information sharing,
Information practices, Individual interests
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Children’s interests have long been investigated in disciplines such as psychology,
education and learning sciences (Alexander et al., 2008;DeLoache et al., 2007;DiGiacomo
et al.,2018;Renninger, 2000). Children’s abilitiesto develop deep stores of knowledge about
a particular topic or activity have been documented as early as the 1970s, with studies
focused on children’s expertise in areas such as dinosaurs and chess (Chi, 1978;Chi and
Koeske, 1983). A common distinction in the study of interest is that betweenindividual and
situational interests (Hidi and Renninger, 2006). An individual interest is “an enduring
preference for certain topics, subject areas, or activities”(Schiefele, 1991, p. 302), while a
situational interest is temporary and triggered by external environmental factors (Hidi and
Renninger, 2006). Individual interests have been studied primarily for their impact on
learning, with researchers exploring the influence of individual interests on factors such as
The author would like to thank Drs. Ross Todd, Marie Radford, Vikki Katz and Roger Hart for their
guidance and support in developing this study, as well as the children and parents who generously
gave of their time and energy and allowed her to learn from them. This study was supported by a
dissertation support grant from the Department of Library and Information Science at Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey.
Interest-driven
information
practices
371
Received12 March 2022
Revised20 June 2022
27June 2022
Accepted28 June 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 7/8, 2022
pp. 371-398
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0037
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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motivation, attentionand learning outcomes (Durik and Harackiewicz, 2007;Hidi et al., 2004;
Schrader et al., 2018;Walkington and Bernacki, 2014). Learning-related frameworks that
include interest as a central concept include Ito et al.’s (2013,2020) work on connected
learning, Barron’s (2006) learning ecology framework and Crowley and Jacob’s (2002) work
on “islands of expertise”. Common across these frameworks is engagement with activities
related to a given interestacross time, place and modality. Also central to these frameworks
is engagement with interest-relatedinformation.
According to the notable information science scholar Bates (1999, p. 1048), what
distinguishes informationscience from other fields such as education and psychology is that
information scientists “are always looking for the red thread of information in the social
texture of people’s lives”.The concept of the “red thread of information”refers to the ways in
which information in its many forms canbe a part of virtually any activity in which people
take part, whether or not engagement with information is the primary focus. Rather,
information is embedded withinpeople’s activities and interactions, and it is the information
scientist’s task to bring to light the ways in which that information is integral to the
phenomena under study. This study,then, is distinct from other examinations of children’s
interests, in that the focus of this investigation is on the “red thread of information”within
children’s individualinterests.
Literature review
Children’s interestscan spark information needs, or “awant to strengthen and develop one’s
knowledge”about a particulartopic (Kari and Hartel, 2007, p. 1140, emphasis added; see, for
example, Barriage, 2016;Foss et al.,2012;Shenton and Dixon, 2003a). Such information
wants are a defining characteristic of well-developed individual interests, and often prompt
engagement in various activities to find and use interest-related information in some way
(Renninger and Bishop, 2017). How young children (those eight years of age and younger)
seek out information related to their individual interests and what they do with that
information once found is a relatively unexplored area in information behavior/practices
research.
Perhaps the most significant source of information for young children is other people, a
means of information seeking commonly reported in studies of individuals across age
groups. Asking questions of others, a behavior heavily studied within developmental
psychology (Chouinard, 2007;Harris, 2012;Mills et al.,2010), is a common information
seeking strategyidentified in studies of theinformation behavior/practices of young children
(Barriage,2016,2022;Barria ge and Searles, 2015;Shenton and Dixon, 2003b;Stewart, 2016).
Such studies have also found that young children seek information by interacting with and
observing others (Barriage,2016, 2022), activities integral to children’slearningand
development (Harris, 2012;Rogoff, 2003). Informationseeking via other people is embedded
within young children’s everyday l ives (Barriage,2016, 2022;Barriage and Searles,2015), in
much the same way that their interests become part of their everyday activities and
interactions(Crowley and Jacob,2002;DeLo ache et al.,2007;Johnson et al.,2004).
Other means of information seeking identified in the information behavior/practices
literature include the use of both fiction and non-fiction books and other print materials,
such as instruction manuals, magazines and posters (Barriage,2016, 2022;Cooper, 2002;
Havigerov
a and Haviger, 2014;McKechnie, 2006;Shenton, 2004). Observing the
environment (Havigerov
a and Haviger, 2014), visiting institutions suchas libraries and art
galleries, trying out new things (Barriage, 2016) and participation in daily activities and
routines (Barriage, 2022) have also been identified as ways through which young children
seek information.
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