Redefining Library and Information Science education and training in Zimbabwe to close the workforce skills gaps

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess Library and Information Science (LIS) curricula in Zimbabwean universities and polytechnic colleges in the context of perceived skills gaps and from employers’ perspectives on what is required from graduate professionals in entry-level jobs. The study is qualitative in nature and is supported by a post-positivist framework. A case study research design and methods are used. All (three) curricular documents from two universities and polytechnic colleges (use a common curriculum) offering LIS education in Zimbabwe are reviewed using document review methods. Twenty-seven course outlines are analysed. Seventeen LIS employers and five deans/heads of departments have been purposively selected and interviewed using in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data are analysed using NVivo. The study identifies gaps in knowledge as well as in functional and generic employability training in LIS curricula. These are attributed to the transitory environment in which LIS departments operate, dated educational models, shortage of well-developed multi-stakeholder mutual partnerships and alliances, a lack of shared understanding and responsibility, an expanding labour environment and the absence of continuous professional development programmes. The study results suggest that Zimbabwean LIS education programmes are in urgent need of radical transformation and need to adopt innovative education models to meet the dictates of the techno-economic paradigm that serves society today.