R.I. school district rankings released during National Media Literacy Week
But
not enough Rhode Island students are getting opportunities for media literacy
education either at school or at home.
Most Rhode Island elementary and secondary students do not receive
media literacy education, according to findings from a survey and interviews with
over 500 educators, parents, and community leaders.
This new report
provides an overview of the research findings resulting from a statewide study
of the level of media literacy integration in RI schools. The study
includes the opinions of school educators, administrators, parents,
elected public officials, and community members, along with interviews with 30
respondents who provided more in-depth information.
The study was conducted by Media Literacy Now Rhode Island and Renee Hobbs,
professor of communication studies at the University of Rhode Island, in
collaboration with URI’s Social Science Institute
for Research, Education and Policy.
• Rhode Islanders are aware of the importance of media literacy education as
they see the clear consequences of fake news, political polarization, and
disinformation spread through social media.
• Survey participants believe that the most important reason for valuing media
literacy education is its capacity to improve people’s ability to analyze
information and recognize high-quality sources.
• Some of the core instructional practices of media literacy are being used
with students in Rhode Island’s elementary, middle, and high schools. For
example, 1 in 3 students learns how to comprehend and analyze news media in
school.
• Most R.I. students do not encounter media literacy learning experiences that
help them understand advertising or the economics of media industries.
• There are significant disparities between school districts, with some
communities offering media literacy education to most or all students in
elementary, middle school and high school, while other communities give
students fewer opportunities.
• Beyond co-viewing, parents and guardians do not use a wide range of
activities to build media literacy competencies with their children at home.
Striking differences were found between communities, noted Hobbs, co-author of
the report. For example, most students in West Warwick get exposure to media
literacy instructional practices in elementary, middle, and high school, and
the district also has few challenges concerning access to technology, student
readiness, or school climate.
In communities like Coventry or Exeter-West
Greenwich, implementation of media literacy instructional practices only
reaches a small proportion of learners, and educators, school leaders, parents,
and community members there report a significant number of obstacles and
challenges that limit innovation.
The report was a response to a law passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly
in 2017, which mandated the Rhode Island Department of Education to consider
including media literacy in the state’s basic education plan.
Pam Steager, head
of Media Literacy Now Rhode Island and a co-author of the report, said, “The
Media Literacy Report Card provides educators, school leaders, and community
members a baseline and a blueprint upon which they can build transformative
media literacy programs for all learners in Rhode Island schools.”
School librarians know the value of media literacy instructional practices and
opportunities for media literacy are already embedded in the national school
library standards.
According to Mary Moen, assistant professor of library and information studies at URI, school librarians are trained to identify the cross-curricular opportunities where media literacy education can take place in collaboration with English language arts, social studies, science, as well as in social emotional learning and civics education.
“The high percentage of
librarians who responded to this survey indicate that they care and are
involved in media literacy education,” she said. “This evidence counters the
outdated perspective that school librarians are just keepers of the books.”
Thanks to a grant from the Social Science Institute for Research, Education and
Policy at URI, student researchers played an active role in the research
process, working alongside professors and community leaders in media literacy.
In the process, they learned more about what media literacy looks like in
formal education.
“Working on this project, I had the opportunity
to design survey questions and learn about the core instructional practices of
media education,” said Rongwei Tang, a graduate student.
She also got to interview educators in the field
and learn about their teaching practices, the challenges they face and how
media literacy education is implemented at schools.
“This is perhaps the best preparation for
becoming a media literacy leader,” said Steager, a longtime leader in the
field.
For more information, contact Pam Steager, of Media Literacy Now
Rhode Island, at (401) 439-1292 or psteager@gmail.com.