Assessment of Learner-Centered Techniques for Academic Library Instruction: A Comparative Study of Academic Librarians Teaching Media and Information Literacy in Federal Colleges of Education and a Federal University in North-West Nigeria

This study assessed learner-centered techniques for academic library instruction among academic librarians teaching Media and Information Literacy (MIL) courses in Federal Colleges of Education and a Federal University in North-West Nigeria. The study was guided by four research questions and two hypotheses that examined how librarians use guiding principles to shape their personal teaching philosophy and address classroom power dynamics, how they communicate in the language of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework and build rapport with students, how they apply Keller's ARCS theory of motivation and metacognitive techniques to foster student ownership of learning, and how they manage classroom distraction and uncover students' prior research knowledge. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the population comprised 314 academic librarians teaching MIL courses in Federal Colleges of Education and a Federal University in North-West Nigeria. A total enumeration technique was used, and a structured instrument, the Assessment of Learner-Centered Techniques Questionnaire (ALTQ), was administered to the entire population; 289 copies (92.0%) were correctly completed and used for analysis. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that academic librarians in North-West Nigeria generally agreed that they apply learner-centered guiding principles, address classroom power dynamics, communicate using ACRL Framework language, build rapport, and apply motivational and metacognitive techniques, although the use of classroom-management and prior-knowledge-activation techniques was comparatively weaker. Hypothesis one revealed a statistically significant difference between Federal University and Federal College of Education librarians in the use of philosophy, rapport, and motivation-related techniques, in favor of the Federal University, while hypothesis two revealed no statistically significant difference in classroom-management and prior-knowledge-activation techniques between the two institutional groups. The study concluded that learner-centered instruction is emerging but unevenly embedded across institutional types in North-West Nigeria, and recommended sustained continuing professional development, institutional policy support, and collaborative faculty-librarian partnerships to strengthen learner-centered library instruction in Nigerian tertiary institutions.