Welcome to this month's edition of Researching education: Five further readings. In this series, we take a look at some further readings available on a particular topic, including open access research papers from various online catalogues, and Teacher archive content you might not have come across yet.
In this edition, we're focusing on media literacy. Research shows that many teachers are concerned about students' reliance on mobile media for news, and 23 per cent of educators say they don't feel equipped to guide students on what news can be trusted. Here, we've gathered some resources which look into the state of media literacy amongst young students and how it could be improved.
- A recent addition to the Cunningham Library Catalogue – media literacy – an open access resource filled with links and references to education research – is The critical media literacy guide: engaging media and transforming education, which the authors say provides a theoretical framework and practical applications for educators to transform education by putting critical media literacy into action in classrooms.
Follow this link to find a list of other resources available relating to media literacy. The catalogue is continually being updated and includes research material from journals, government reports and books. Resources listed in this link will continue to be updated as new content becomes available.
- EdResearch Online is an open access resource which includes hundreds of articles from Australian education journals. For the topic of media literacy, a recent acquisition is Sexualised media and critical media literacy: a review of the Australian and the United States primary school curriculum frameworks; a study where aspects of the curriculum in Australia and the United States where assessed for their ability to guide teachers on educating primary school aged children about media analysis. Follow this link to find a dynamic list of articles available on media literacy. Some of the articles are available in full and other references will include information on sourcing the article.
- Insight five: A snapshot of media literacy in Australian schools. Jocelyn Nettlefold and Kathleen Williams from the University of Tasmania identify the need for a dedicated curricula, professional development and resources to encourage school students' critical thinking in order to address the challenge of young people needing the skills to identify false news.
- Exploring media literacy education as a tool for mitigating truth decay. Researchers in this Rand Corporation report explore the idea of ‘truth decay' which they describe as the ‘diminishing role that facts, data, and analysis play in today's political and civil discourse'. In the paper, they look at how media literacy education might help improve this problem.
- In two short Teacher articles, Marc Barrett explores the work of Alain Bergala on the potential of short film clips to engage school students in learning across the curriculum and he provides some guidance on the difficult task of selecting film clips and other artistic stimulus for the classroom: Cinephelia – using cinema in education and Resources: Film clips across the curriculum.
The Cunningham Library membership is open to individuals, schools and organisations. Membership includes access to a comprehensive collection of education research literature; weekday alerts to a selection of Australian education news; fast supply of articles and books from the collection; support in finding research; and an integrated online search tool that works across all our resources.
To become a library member, visit the website.
