Professor Philip Candy is the Director of Research, and also Director of the NHSU Institute, within the newly established corporate educational provider for the National Health Services in England (NHSU). Among his responsibilities, he has been working to shape the organisation’s academic profile, to procure and launch its virtual campus, to articulate its quality policies and standards, and to establish an approach to the development and support of learning communities across health and social care—a population of at least 1.2 million people. He was previously a National Research Fellow with the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training, where he examined online and technologically assisted learning across the lifespan. Prior to that, for five years he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Scholarship) at the University of Ballarat. He holds undergraduate degrees in accounting, economics, commercial law, geography and history, and postgraduate degrees in education and adult education from universities in Australia, England and Canada. Although Phil’s current research interests are in the area of higher education, he has also undertaken scholarly work in the field of adult teaching and learning. His book, Self-direction for Lifelong Learning, published in 1991 in the United States, won the prestigious Cyril Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education, awarded by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. In 1994, he co-edited with Dr. John Laurent from Griffith University, a book entitled Pioneering Culture: Mechanics’ Institutes and Schools of Arts in Australia. Also in 1994 he was the principal investigator for the highly influential Higher Education Council project Developing Lifelong Learners through Undergraduate Education, and in 1998 he was part of a team headed by Peter Kearns of Global Learning Services which produced a two-volume report for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research entitled VET in the Learning Age: The Challenge of Lifelong Learning for All. More recently, he has concentrated on the development of generic attributes in graduates for the “knowledge society,” especially their skills of information retrieval and use. With Christine Bruce from QUT he edited a book entitled Information Literacy around the World: Advances in Programs and Research, which draws together a range of programs from different settings and situations internationally. Linking these varied topics together is Phil’s enduring interest in the subject of self-directed and lifelong learning in both formal and non-formal contexts. Research Related to Information Literacy: Phil edged sideways into the then embryonic field of information literacy in 1992, when he was asked to give the keynote address to the inaugural Australian Conference on Information Literacy held in Adelaide. This brought him into contact with professional colleagues in library and information science, and introduced him to a previously unsuspected literature which resonated with, and enhanced, his interests in self-directed learning. In subsequent years, he gave further invited addresses and wrote various essays on information literacy, as well as working with Christine Bruce; initially to produce a curriculum checklist entitled “Developing Information Literate Graduates: Prompts for Good Practice,” and later to co-edit a book of readings divided between theoretical insights and practical examples (noted above). In 2002-03, he spent a year as a National Research Fellow exploring the dynamics of self-directed online learning. This led him to develop a six-part model of elearning, and to identify a constellation of skills that combine and integrate aspects of Information Literacy and ICT Literacy. This work is reported in the recently published report entitled Linking Thinking: Self-directed Learning in the Digital Age, which is available on line from http://www.dest.gov.au/research/publications/linking_thinking/default.htm. In his present role, Phil has been seeking to develop a distinctive, evidence-based approach to work-based learning in health and social care. He has identified “using and managing information for learning and research” as one of six “cross-cutting themes” that underpins and integrates the programmatic offering of NHSU. He has recently been asked to join the Advisory Group to establish an integrated library and information service for the whole NHS, provisionally called the National Library for Health (NLH). Publications: Candy, P. C. (2004). Linking thinking: Self-directed learning in the digital age. Canberra: Department of Education Science and Training; DEST Fellowship Scheme. Available online at http://www.dest.gov.au/research/publications/linking_thinking/default.htm Candy, P. C. (1991). Self-direction for lifelong learning: A comprehensive guide to theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Candy, P. C. (2003). Does digital literacy mean more than clicking your fingers? New literacies for the digital age. In Guthrie, H. (ed.), Online learning: Research readings. Leabrook, SA: National Centre for Vocational Education Research, 21-40. Candy, P. C. (2000). Mining in Cyberia: Researching information literacy for the digital age. In Bruce, C. S., & Candy, P. C. (Eds.), Information literacy around the world: Advances in programs and research. Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, 139-151. Candy, P. C. (2000). Preventing ‘information overdose’: Developing information literate practitioners. The Journal of Continuing Education for the Health Professions, 20(4), 228-237. Candy, P. C. (2000). Knowledge Navigators and Lifelong Learners: Producing graduates for the information society. Higher Education Research and Development, 19(3), 261-277. Candy, P. C. (1998). ‘Repairing the plane in flight’: Developing information literacy in professional practice. In Booker, D. (Ed.), Information literacy: The professional issue. Proceedings of the Third National Conference on Information Literacy. Canberra Institute of TAFE, December 8-9, 1997. Adelaide: University of South Australia Library, 4-14. Candy, P. C. (1996). Major themes and future directions: Conference summary and implications. Learning for life - information literacy and the autonomous learner: Proceedings of the second national information literacy conference conducted by the University of South Australia Library, November 30-December 1 1995. Adelaide: University of South Australia Library, 135-149. Candy, P. C. (1993). The problem of currency: Information literacy in the context of Australia as a learning society. Information literacy: The Australian agenda: Proceedings of a conference conducted by the University of South Australia library, December 2-4 1992. Adelaide: University of South Australia, 60-76. Bruce, C. S., & Candy, P. C. (2000). Information literacy programs: People, politics and potential. In Bruce, C. S., & Candy, P. C. (Eds.), Information literacy around the world: Advances in programs and research. Wagga Wagga: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, 3-10. Bruce, C. S., & Candy, P. C. (1995). Developing information literate graduates: Prompts for good practice. In D. Booker (Ed.), The learning link: Information literacy in practice. Adelaide: Auslib Press, 245-252. Contact Information: Philip Candy Director The NHSU Institute 88 Wood Street London EC2V 7RS England Telephone: +44 20 8528 1539 Fax: +44 20 8528 1302 phil.candy@nhsu.org.uk

Site sponsored by: Syracuse Literacy Group

Dr. Lana Jackman
Sharon Weiner
Co-Chairs, National Forum on Information Literacy