TEACHING CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY IN EARLY EDUCATION
Keywords:
Critical media literacy, media literacy, critical thinking, media, communication, early education, Bloom’s taxonomyAbstract
In today’s media saturated environment, children encounter complex and often persuasive messages from an early age, shaping their perceptions, values, and behaviors. Early education thus emerges as a crucial context for cultivating critical media literacy as an evolving competence. This article explores theoretical and practical approaches to teaching critical media literacy in early education, introducing the author’s Model for Developing Critical Media Literacy as a central contribution. The model is designed to serve both educational practice and assessment, offering a flexible framework adaptable to diverse learning settings. It integrates three interrelated sub
models: inquiring into a media text (identifying, decoding, and reflecting on media messages); deepening understanding of a media text (developing interpretive skills and awareness of narrative media structures); and asking questions and investigating (stimulating inquiry, dialogue, and critical reflection). The model emphasizes process rather than fixed outcomes, aligning activities with the progression of Bloom’s taxonomy to foster higher
order thinking, creativity, and reflective engagement. Empirical validation was carried out through an experiment with children aged 5 7, demonstrating that gains in critical thinking correspond with higher levels of media literacy. Additional classroom observations with 7 9 year olds confirmed the model’s adaptability, assessed through the Criteria for Evaluating Pedagogical Interaction Aimed at Developing Critical Media Literacy. To capture educators’ perspectives, a structured teacher survey (five point Likert scale) was conducted, focusing on five dimensions: clarity of goals, children’s participation, the teacher’s role as facilitator, appropriateness of media tools, and overall adaptability. Results indicated consistently high agreement across participants, highlighting the model’s pedagogical soundness, clear structure, and creative flexibility. Teachers particularly valued the freedom to select and present stories in multiple media forms and formats, which enhanced learner motivation and engagement. Taken together, these findings confirm the model’s value as both a pedagogical and diagnostic tool, contributing to the development of reflective, critical, and ethically aware media practices from early childhood onward.
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