Media Literacy European Policy Recommendations

Transcription

1 Media Literacy European Policy Recommendations EAVI S VERSION May 2014 Paolo Celot Prepared by EAVI with contributions from Partners and National Experts within the Emedus Project

2 Table of Contents of Media Literacy European Policy Recommendations Recommendation General Whichever terms are used, clearly include core ML constitutive parts - Critical thinking and Participatory competences within its definitions...3 Recommendation General Within the ML approach, emphasise the social, ethical and cultural aspects (in addition to the economical one)...5 Recommendation Formal Education...6 Preamble To include media education in the school curricula...6 Recommendation Formal Education Training for Teachers and other educators...8 Recommendation Formal Education Access and Development of Teaching Resources...9 Recommendation Formal Education Develop Evaluation Assessment Tools...10 Recommendation Non Formal Education Training Media Professionals...11 Recommendation Non Formal Education Incorporate ML into Life Long Learning...12 Recommendation Research More Research at European level...13 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation Cooperation with and between International Organizations such as the European Commission, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, OECD and so on...14 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation Networks, Observatories and Exchanges of Good Practices...15 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation Support civil society organizations to promote media literacy and citizenship...16 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation Social inclusion and access to content with a public benefit to everybody...17 Recommendation Resources Financial Resources...18 EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 2 of 18

3 Recommendation General 1. Whichever terms are used, clearly include core ML constitutive parts - Critical thinking and Participatory competences within its definitions. Media literacy nowadays is about many things. Maybe too many. This causes sometimes a difficulty for policy makers to adopt specific policies. Long, ever lasting discussions have taken place over the definition of media literacy. In our previous 2009 research we were already writing the following about media literacy: media literacy is a complex construction, expressing intrinsically many different ideas and streams of thought and research. As a function of geography alone, it invites within Europe numerous different denotations, whether by reference to country, region or language. Different concepts are understood by equivalent terms, depending inter alia on the cultural substrates typifying every nation individually and each group of people collectively. Moreover, concepts and contexts can change (and force adaptation) depending on the different applications of those contexts within (and across) each country. However, and unsurprisingly perhaps, considering the multiplicity of approaches, a conclusive universal definition proved unworkable as it has done for more than twenty years 1. Five years later, the situation has not changed significantly. From the Emedus researches findings and from the literature review carried out within the same context, it clearly emerges much confusion about the use of different terms. In addition to the term media literacy, we hear about many more, including media information literacy used widely by UNESCO, 2 the ever lasting digital literacy definition and many more. Those differences in terminology can be problematic only if the concepts that they are meant to convey would differ considerably from the intention of the researcher. But evidence shows that, although researchers have not agreed yet on a shared definition, they very much agree on what media (or information or digital) literacy is or should be all about. In this respect, the properties inherent to the different literacies are better defined in frameworks and conceptual maps elaborated already by the European Commission, UNESCO and other national and international organisations. Here therefore we are not advocating for one term or another, it is not essential (although it would be auspicial) to use a shared definition. It is more realistic to offer models to handle the relationship between 1 Study on Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels, 2009: 2 Towards Media and Information Literacy Indicators, 2011: EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 3 of 18

4 the different definitions making sure that the core elements are present when those terms are applied in policies. What we find imperative, it is to stress what media literacy is about and it is definitely about technical aspects, critical thinking and citizens participation. It is essential, inter alia in policy making - to make sure that the term media literacy and its equivalent ones contain as their constitutive parts and in addition to technical aspects, the core of ML which are Critical thinking (evaluate) competences and Participatory (creation and communication) abilities ones. EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 4 of 18

5 Recommendation General 2. Within the ML approach, emphasise the social, ethical and cultural aspects (in addition to the economical one) In order not to limit its understanding to economical aspects only, it is a necessity to define which are the competences that flow from the definition, the properties and the dimensions of media literacy. Nowadays there seem to be an orientation towards an area of media literacy which is more linked to operational skills and the simple use of technology. The responsibility to acquire those competences is placed on the individual as a consumer and the system advocates for less regulation, claiming that markets would work better. From a policy point of view, although at European level media literacy was (or still is) a priority for policy makers in fact it is included in the Audiovisual Media Service Directive, the European Commission listed 8 competences 3 with the European Parliament suggesting a ninth one to be media literacy 4, the Digital Agenda initiative took it into account 5 and so on - we find that the most recent trend in policy documents and debates focuses essentially on economical and technical aspects. Already the EC 2009 ML Recommendation 6 was highlighting primarily commercial and online aspects. More recently the Europe strategy, setting the strategy in this field, again suggests pursuing aspects which relate mainly to economic aspects. Essentially the citizens would need to acquire new competences to be better off in the market labor. More examples of this trend can be found at national level. Probably in this respect the UNESCO approach is more complete when it mentions not only skills but also individual attitudes as components of media (information) literacy. We recommend fostering a concept of media literacy clearly including social, ethical and cultural aspects as well as the economic one. 3 Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC) Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Rethinking Education (2013/C 139/10) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Digital Agenda for Europe COM(2010) Commission Recommendation of 20 August 2009 on media literacy in the digital environment for a more competitive audiovisual and content industry and an inclusive knowledge society (2009/625/EC) Communication from the Commission: Europe 2020 COM(2010) EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 5 of 18

6 Recommendation Formal Education Preamble The responsibility for educational policies lies with the individual member states and therefore, the EU in this field does not have binding power. 8 As explicitly indicated the content of teaching, the organization of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity is fully in the hands of the member states. 9 The role of the EU is to support the improvement of national systems through the provision of common tools and the exchange of information and good practices. 10 Against this background the EU should be responsible for observation of practices and their effectiveness across Europe. 3. To include media education in the school curricula Although ME has gained ground in an increasing number of countries and mainly in the cross-curricular form, problematic issues persist for its well-thought deployment and for the evaluation of its effectiveness. Research of the Emedus project found that across Europe there is not one mainstream model of the way ME is covered in national curricula across the EU countries. The presence of ME in European schools is heterogeneous in terms of whether the term media education is explicitly mentioned or not in the curricula and if it is a separate, compulsory or cross-curricula subject. ML properties covered and pedagogical approaches also differ greatly. This process should be supported by an assessment of competences acquired and by training activities. Pedagogical approaches should be adapted depending on school levels, educational systems and national realities. Because the media is so omnipresent in modern society, it is imperative that ME is included as an obligatory subject in all schools so that students are educated to its use and fully aware of threats and opportunities offered. When ME is integrated in a cross-curricular form, national institutions should decide within which subjects (mother tongue, ICT, media and social studies, history and so on) its integration is the most appropriate and effective. 8 Due to the subsidiarity principle, according to which political decisions in the EU must always be taken at the lowest possible administrative and political level, and as close to the citizens as possible Communication from the Commission: An updated strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training COM(2008) 865 final - EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 6 of 18

7 As a reminder, it is essential that within the curricula, ML core properties and key concepts are fully covered, therefore a correct balance between communication, cognitive and technical competences and between economical, cultural and social aspects, should be established when introducing ME in the curricula. It is necessary to introduce media education in the curricula for all different levels of schools, including primary and kindergarten. Therefore we recommend the inclusion of ME as an obligatory part of the curricula in primary and secondary (lower and upper) schools curricula. EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 7 of 18

8 Recommendation Formal Education 4. Training for Teachers and other educators Experts unanimously agree that educational policy recommendation should encompass teachers training. It is essential in fact that their ME capacities are first developed and the great majority of teachers across Europe do not seem to be sufficiently qualified to teach ME. This seems the case also when ICT equipment is provided but it ends up not been properly used. Training teachers is also an essential need to accompany the provision of digital tools in schools. Training schemes and modules should therefore be adopted and a ME curriculum for teacher training should be fully developed first. 11 The Media and Information Literacy curricula for Teachers 12 developed by UNESCO and other publications in this field could be used as an initial basis. ME training courses for teachers of primary and secondary schools should be initiated. Training should be offered to all teachers. It should encompass both their initial training as well as their ongoing professional development and should be regularly updated along with the rapidly developing environment driven by user experience and technological development requiring media-related skills to be continuously developed. 13 Training should cover all ML competences to be acquired and their respective properties (technical, critical, communication and production) and in a broad and fully inclusive way. Research community outcomes, reflected in a number of national documents and key international studies, including those of UNESCO and the European Commission, show similar properties which should define the teaching subjects and minimum requirements to be included as part of the curriculum. 11 Study on the Current Trends and Approaches to Media Literacy in Europe (2007) 12 UNESCO Media and Information Literacy curricula for Teachers 13 Pedagogies of Media and Information Literacies, UNESCO (2012) - EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 8 of 18

9 Recommendation Formal Education 5. Access and Development of Teaching Resources Access to ME resources is a matter of concern to educators but their fresh development could also represent an opportunity. Some tools for ME education are available online but in order to encourage their use, assess their quality and make them fully accessible to teachers, including adaptation in different languages, requires further investigation and action. At the same time, social networks exchanges and open source content technology among others, can be utilized to create countless engaging resources for teachers. It is considered that ME teaching materials should be developed in a collaborative environment with specialized experts and practitioners (teachers and students) to best suit the needs of the final users. 14 On a related subject, although the situation varies greatly from country to country, research asserts an insufficient access to digital equipment in schools across Europe. 15 While the ultimate focus of ML is certainly not on technology, poor access to ICT equipment and to broadband penalizes teachers and students confident media use. Furthermore, teaching media education involves the inclusion of various forms of content such as film and music. Legal issues such as copyright and privacy subjects about the use of audiovisual content are unclear to educators. The integration of such content in the classrooms is often a difficult matter for teachers. In this respect training and information to teachers should accompany the provision of tools and the informed use of resources, as otherwise teachers do not use content appropriately. Ample, innovative and effective ME learning resources should be collaboratively developed, validated and rendered easily accessible to teachers. Actions supporting a thoughtful deployment of digital equipment in the classrooms should also be encouraged. Training and information to educators should accompany the use of media content. A full educational use of ML resources should be balanced with copyrights ownership Paris Agenda Recommendations, UNESCO Surveys of schools: ICT in education EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 9 of 18

10 Recommendation Formal Education 6. Develop Evaluation Assessment Tools It is essential to be able to certify teachers competences first and to test progresses made by students later. Still a major challenge faced by current research is evaluating media literacy levels and explaining the effectiveness of the teaching pedagogies and the respective competences acquired. Difficulties include measuring ME within cross-curricula subjects and national-level peculiarities and concepts terminology differences. Constructing such assessment tools allows tracking the progresses of acquiring the respective set of skills that ME covers. Therefore, developing tools using qualitative and quantitative indicators and surveys to facilitate the evaluation of ME specific learning outcomes is of primary importance for both teachers and educational and policy institutions. The EC carried out main European-studies on how to assess ML at national level. 17 Experience demonstrates that Member States are using those findings 18. A number of national studies are also currently carrying out studies on assessing ML at various levels and for different age groups. Still much needs to be done to adapt those results for their effective use to measure ML competences. It is important to develop a more systematic research to validate and refine tools which have already been developed to measure media literacy competences levels for each grade of school. Therefore, in cooperation with educators, both theory-based research and empirical research with practical evaluations of the skills acquired need to be developed at national level. 17 Study on Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels, and succesive Refining study 18 See 2013/14 EC ML Expert Groups activity on EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 10 of 18

11 Recommendation Non Formal Education 7. Training Media Professionals The role of the media themselves to promote ML to the general public, including to non-students, is essential. While at times editorial guidelines are maliciously used for commercial or political propaganda, frequently it is simply a lack of knowledge from media professionals that results in a quite poor content outcome. To deploy ML effectively, they should be fully aware of the impact and consequences of their actions. So far professionals training in regard with upgrading their media-related skills has been mostly focused on mainly pure technological aspects of media. 19 As a result, such training is lagging behind the fast-paced advancement of innovations dictated by practical experience and it is not covering broad ML concepts. It is auspicated that media organizations, and ultimately media professionals, receive training about ML and information on how to improve the benefits to the users of their productions. Actions can be envisaged also within the EC strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility for companies taking responsibility for their impact on society. Practical media education should be supported also through developing and distributing materials and additional ML related services Media Education Issues for Professionals and Citizens: Bridging the Divides in Countries of the South, eddine.pdf 20 Good Media Literacy: National Policy Guidelines, EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 11 of 18

12 Recommendation Non Formal Education 8. Incorporate ML into Life Long Learning The development of a media literate individual is a never-ending process. This is also due to the constantly changing nature of media, therefore people from all ages and walks of life should be provided with the opportunity to update their skills on a regular basis. 21 Adults out of schools should also be reached so that benefits are not confined to students and young people only. Sustainable projects integrating working and learning, inter-generational exchanges, interactions with civil society organizations and similar projects, should be encouraged so that people acquire ML competences within the context of their work and environment. 22 Media Literacy should be incorporated in learning all along the course of ones life. It should be recognized as one of the Lifelong Learning s core elements, which facilitates the development of generic capabilities, vital for the successful economic and social fulfillment of all Potter, W. J. (2010). The state of media literacy. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54, Fischer, G. (2001). Lifelong learning and its support with new media.international encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences, 13, IFLA MIL Recommendations, EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 12 of 18

13 Recommendation Research 9. More Research at European level Research claim more research. When investigating ML, it is apparent that a number of areas analysed require a further and deeper investigation. In addition to the sections mentioned in other parts of these recommendations (such as on Assessment), Emedus findings reveal, as an example, that there is a need for international comparative studies and for longitudinal ones, as we know little about how ME is taught in classrooms. 24 Furthermore, ME training materials such as ME books and digital learning tools should be evaluated, too. Generally speaking there is a need for additional and updated research on specific areas of ML education. The findings of the respective studies should be freely available to all EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 13 of 18

14 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation 10. Cooperation with and between International Organizations such as the European Commission, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, OECD and so on. Many authoritative international organizations have produced knowledge in ML field. So far, UNESCO and the European Commission are among the biggest advocates for media education and have coorganized several papers, research, initiatives and international conferences, bringing together media practitioners, decision-makers and authorities from all over the world. 25 Furthermore, international organizations have assisted their Member States to articulate their national policies in relation to media literacy and have supported them providing information, establishing initiatives and in developing relevant local projects and government partnerships. 26 International organizations could also have a leading role in promoting access to media literacy content and ensuring it is available to individuals. A good example could be UNESCO, which is developing an Open Educational Resources (OER) platform that offers select UNESCO publications. OER refers to teaching, learning or research materials that are in the public domain or released with an intellectual property license that allows for free use, adaptation, and distribution. In order to provide opportunities, to improve the quality of education and facilitate policy dialogue, the sharing of knowledge and the building of capacities, cooperation with and between International Organizations should be reinforced _Conceptual_Relationship_between_Information_Literacy_and_Media_Literacy.pdf EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 14 of 18

15 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation 11. Networks, Observatories and Exchanges of Good Practices An Observatory to gather together research and facilitate exchanges among interested people and organizations is one of the deliverable of this study. Further Emedus research also suggests the setting up of a network of observatories at national level and professional body on media education to support research, policy making and training and spread good practices. The ML Experts Group of the EC is an example of such existing networks at European level. It includes a representative for each Member State supported by EC staff and external experts and it constitutes a platform for exchanges of good practices and initiatives taken at national level. Other platforms exist already, for example, several agencies (the Swedish Media Council, the Norwegian Media Authority, the Media Council for Children and Young People, the Finnish Centre for Media Education and Audiovisual Media Nordicom) have informal exchanges of experience 28 and contribute to disseminate knowledge about media literacy and up-to-date research to users in Scandinavia, Europe and the rest of the world. 29 Regional and local authorities should also be involved. Municipalities should seek to encourage good practice exchanges between European city administrations in the field of media literacy on an international level. 30 Furthermore, monitoring ML progresses could be an effective way to embed media literacy in society, instigate organisations and the public to act not like mere passive receivers but to actively engage with the media. In this sense publishing and promoting media monitoring outcomes for instance will result into increased awareness among citizens, who will be more informed about current ML practices. It is recommended to set up networks, ME online platforms and observatories at European and national level to convey ML research and knowledge and facilitate the exchange of experience and good practices. 28 Media and Information Literacy in the Nordic Countries EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 15 of 18

16 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation 12. Support civil society organizations to promote media literacy and citizenship. Media literacy deployment can be an agent of social change for people benefits. As such it is important to contribute to people full media citizenship, meaning working in awareness rising and enabling citizens to engage and participate in public life. In this respect it is important that citizens are represented directly or through civil societies organizations influencing debates about ML development as never before ML has been on the agenda of so many policy makers and it received such an attention. Many public and not-for-profit organizations are active in this field across Europe. 31 Emedus research has also identified many projects and initiatives which activities can inspire others. To render people aware of the importance of developing ML skills for instance, information campaigns should be organised to make relevant information accessible to people. It is important to support the media literacy of citizens building public awareness and contributing to empower people to participate to public life. Furthermore it is important that people views can be expressed and channeled to policy makers. As such civil society organizations working in the field of citizenship and media literacy should be supported. 31 In UK Ofcom, the independent regulator of competition authority for British communication for instance, is very active in building public awareness of media literacy to promote the interests of all citizens and to protect them from harm. EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 16 of 18

17 Recommendation Stakeholders Cooperation 13. Social inclusion and access to content with a public benefit to everybody A number of issues related to the media literacy of European population have emerged from Emedus and other research. 32 As European society is progressively ageing, it became important to examine how directly impact on accelerating older people and parents literacy propagation. In many families, a generational gap appears with respect to family members media use. Parents and children need extra information and support to better interact each other. Intergenerational learning provides interesting opportunities as different generations can learn a lot from one another with regard to diverse forms of media use. Social exclusion in the information society should also be tackled strongly promoting media literacy. Unfortunately digital services are often not reaching the most excluded. The use of ICT such as to increase participation and access to services electronically, are undertaken mostly by the more experienced users rather than by the socially and economically disadvantaged people who would benefit the most by accessing them. 33 On a broader level, access to media content and services is a crucial factor in rendering the human right of freedom of expression effective in practice. 34 Therefore, providing minorities with access to media is a way to fight discrimination and ensure they make the most of the opportunities that the digital world has to offer. In order that people of all age and backgrounds, including the most socially and economically disadvantaged, can become more media literate, media educational initiatives and programmes should be deployed and supported, also financially, at national and European level Digital Inclusion: An Analysis of Social Disadvantage and the Information Society, Tarlach McGonagle, Representation of Minorities: Rights of Access, in: Media and Human Rights (London, Clemens Nathan Research Centre, 2009), pp EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 17 of 18

18 Recommendation Resources 14. Financial Resources In recent years EU funding programmes and other international organizations have effectively contributed to support a few key ML projects and initiatives. It is now important to ensure that media literacy education practices continue to be financially supported to ensure cooperation, wide impact and effectiveness. The Structural Funds are financial tools of the EU, which primary goal is to bridge the economic and social gaps between member states and decrease the existing discrepancies in terms of income, wealth and opportunities. 35 The last round of the European Structural Fund Programs covering the period , aim to ensure that EU investment is targeted on Europe's long-term goals for growth and jobs, in line with the objectives of the "Europe 2020 strategy. Consequently, a strong emphasis is placed on investing in education, skills and lifelong learning, which will help to address employability concerns, as well as promoting enhanced levels of productivity. This is why media literacy education should make the most of these resources, given the fact it is at the heart of creating young individuals, fully capable of operating in a digital-driven economy. To include ML within the educational objectives of the structural funds of the EU can play a role in researching and developing ML in the future. It is therefore recommended that existing and new EC funding programmes, including structural funds, would fully encompass media literacy education projects and activities EAVI ML European Policy Recommendations. Prepared by EAVI with contributions from the Emedus Experts Group - Brussels, May 2014 p. 18 of 18