Best Practice

Teaching media literacy: An essential skill for the digital age

Curriculum Skills Teaching resources Safeguarding PSHE
The rapidly and constantly shifting media habits of our young people has made media literacy education all the more vital. Andrew Jones considers what media literacy is and evidence-informed tips for how we can teach it
Image: Adobe Stock

Over the last decade, I have observed that teaching A level sociology lessons on media ownership, news values, and audiences has become increasingly challenging.

This isn’t due to more difficult content or less capable students, but because traditional reference points – such as newspapers, key UK news bulletins, and major national television and radio stations – are no longer familiar to them.

Publications like The Sun and The Guardian, or broadcasts like BBC News at Six and Channel 4 News, seem like relics of the past. My students may not know Clive Myrie or Cathy Freeman, but they are well-acquainted with YouTubers like Chunkz and Nico from the Beta Squad, who sometimes delve into politics through their infamous pranks.

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