Approaches and Obstacles to Promoting Media Literacy Education in U.S. Schools

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baker, Garrett

Contributor:

Faxon-Mills, Susannah

Hamilton, Laura S.

Huguet, Alice

Pane, John F.

Language:

English

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, Calif. RAND Corporation 2021

Summary:

Recent, widely publicized incidents of misinformation and disinformation underscore the need to equip Americans with the knowledge and skills required to navigate a changing media landscape. A key approach to accomplishing this involves education. A survey administered to public school teachers focused on the kinds of media literacy (ML) instruction promoted in public schools and the obstacles that teachers face in delivering ML curricula and instruction in their classrooms. Survey results indicate that ML instruction is unevenly implemented, at best, and that obstacles to teaching ML (e.g., lack of time, other priorities) are common. The survey also revealed that ML instruction, and obstacles to it, varies across schools of different ethnic makeups and poverty levels, suggesting that there are opportunities to administer ML education more equitably.