Does information technology affect the level of information literacy? : A comparative case study of high school students

Purpose – The paper's aim is to study the role of information technology (IT) in the information literacy (IL) of high school students in Hamedan (Iran) through a comparative investigation into the IL skills of students of ordinary and intelligent high schools. An intelligent school refers to a school in which students make use of information technologies in education and have a lesson on “methods of research” and an ordinary school refers to a school in which students do not have any access to information technologies and have no lessons on “methods of research”. Design/methodology/approach – The method used was experimental research with post‐test‐only control group design. The research population consisted of 364 male and female high school students at 17 years of age in two groups of test and control in two kinds of ordinary and intelligent high schools. A questionnaire was used and it was completed by students on the basis of test and control group. Findings – The results showed that the IL level was low among all students. The overall IL mean was 260. The IL mean was higher in intelligent schools (226.05) than in ordinary schools (161.18). Practical implications – In order to improve the IL level of students, it is recommended that schools give mandatory lessons related to research methods and IL to students. Training courses also should be offered to teachers in order to increase their knowledge of IL and their skills for teaching IL to students. Originality/value – The findings of this research can contribute to the field of IL especially at pre‐university level.