ABSTRACT

Warning signs for the health of the American democracy abound. These challenges have multiple manifestations and multiple roots, but media and the Internet, more broadly, are implicated in prominent ways. Schools, the institutions charged with educating current and future generations, have a role to play in supporting the preparation of an informed citizenry. This study examines the extent to which state level legislation supports the provision of civically oriented media literacy education. To do so, we first identify several critically needed media literacy education dimensions and then examine how well existing legislation from all 50 states responds to these identified needs. Findings reveal that not only is there an overall dearth of K-12 media literacy policy, but definitions and corresponding resources remain sparse and varied. For schools to fulfill their role of providing young people with the knowledge, skills, and commitments to participate and promote a vibrant and informed democracy, this study concludes that more must be done to support media literacy education within state level policy.

摘要

美国民主健康状况的警告信号比比皆是。这些挑战有多种表现形式和多种根源，但更广泛地说，媒体和互联网以显着的方式受到牵连。学校是负责教育当代人和子孙后代的机构，在支持培养知情公民方面可以发挥作用。本研究探讨了州级立法在多大程度上支持提供以公民为导向的媒体素养教育。为此，我们首先确定几个急需的媒体素养教育维度，然后研究所有 50 个州的现有立法对这些已确定需求的回应效果如何。调查结果显示，不仅 K-12 媒体素养政策总体缺乏，而且定义和相应资源仍然稀疏且多样。