Media Literacy Education and Teacher Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

During the past decade, media literacy education (MLE) in teacher education has changed dramatically. The focus has expanded from exploring ways to use media and technology as tools in teaching to integrating meaningful MLE into curricula (Hobbs & Jensen, 2009;Jolls, 2015). The main focus of MLE in 2007 was on pedagogy and practice in K-12 (i.e., US primary and secondary education) settings and on the relationship between MLE and content matter in cross-disciplinary subjects (Hobbs & Jensen, 2009). In 2010 the US Department of Education proposed a national education technology plan (see Hobbs, 2010), stating that, in order to adapt to the rapidly changing world, students must obtain twenty-first-century skills that comprise media literacy and knowledge across various content areas and disciplines, as well as the connections among them.Given the importance and value of MLE, teacher preparation programs should include systematic, consistent, measurable, and scalable professional development opportunities for teachers to provide MLE at a global level. The United Nation Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed and promoted MLE locally and globally. Education systems in other countries are fully aware of the importance of MLE (Jolls, 2012). For instance, the Office of Communications, the government agency responsible for broadcasting and telecommunications in the UK, provides resources and research for MLE to educators across the country. Finland also adopted a national strategy and advocated for MLE (Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013).This study, recognizing the challenges that educators encounter, connects theories and practices of media literacy, integrates approaches that promote media literacy in standards-based instruction, incorporates critical media literacy and culturally relevant teaching into curricula, and critically reviews ethical use of information online. This study further defines media literacy and its role in the twenty-first century; reflects on the needs and challenges in fostering media literacy education in teacher preparation programs; and demonstrates teacher education training models for MLE. Perspectives: Defining Media Literacy and Its Role in the Twenty-First CenturyBecoming a twenty-first-century citizen requires not only consuming and accessing information offline and online but also full participation in contemporary media culture. Therefore, media literacy skills should be taught as part of formal education, especially in K-12 and teacher preparation programs (Hobbs, 2010). Incorporating media literacy into formal education has the potential to narrow the gap between digital divides, to bridge diverse cultural groups, to motivate learners to make connections across various disciplines, and to offer more equitable opportunities in multimedia environments (Hobbs, 2010;Meehan, Ray, Walker, Wells, & Schwarz, 2015).Since participatory culture shifts the emphasis of media literacy from individual activities to global community engagement, MLE must in...