Proceedings of The 5th International Conference on Innovative Research in Education
Year: 2022
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/5th.ireconf.2022.11.400
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The Importance of Media Literacy from the Perspectives of School Teachers
Shqipe Haxhihyseni, Megi Tirana
ABSTRACT:
In today’s society, media, and particularly online media, has become an integral part of all our lives. In this context, media literacy plays a crucial role in schools as it helps students critically analyze the information they receive from the media, understanding both its possibilities and risks. This research focuses on the significance of incorporating media literacy into primary and secondary education curricula from the perspective of teachers in the Albanian context. The research aims to achieve several objectives, including the purpose of media literacy, the appropriate educational cycle to teach media literacy, teacher preparation for teaching media literacy, addressing media in the classroom, and the obstacles it faces. Media literacy enhances and strengthens critical thinking, thereby contributing to the development of informed and engaged citizens. This has a significant impact on future generations. To achieve the objectives, a quantitative and qualitative method was employed in this research. Three hundred and fifty-nine questionnaires were filled out elementary and secondary school teachers from both public and private schools. The questionnaire consisted of five sections, seeking the teachers’ opinions on the importance of media education, its impact, the suitable educational cycle for implementing media literacy, their preparation to teach media literacy as a subject, their experiences in integrating media education into the curriculum, and the challenges they face in teaching media literacy in their classrooms. The questionnaire had 44 closed-ended questions in accordance with the Likert scale, and 2 open-ended questions. The data collected from the survey served as the basis for the study’s results. The findings of this study indicate that media literacy, whether taught as a separate subject or integrated into other subjects, should be introduced in curricula of the lower cycle of studies. Teachers should receive training to effectively teach media literacy to students and help them develop essential competencies. The survey results demonstrate the progress made in media literacy over the past decade and suggest directions for future improvements.
keywords: media literacy, school curriculum, the impact of media, critical thinking, primary and secondary education