media education in estonia: reasons of a failure and success
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Media education in Estonia: reasons of a failure and success. Kadri Ugur Institute of Social Studies University of Tartu. Educational system of Estonia. Mandatory education starts at 7 years and lasts 9 years or until pupil is 17 Primary and secondary education is free of charge - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Media education in Estonia: reasons of a failure and
success
Kadri Ugur
Institute of Social Studies
University of Tartu
Educational system of Estonia
• Mandatory education starts at 7 years and lasts 9 years or until pupil is 17
• Primary and secondary education is free of charge
• High scores in PISA and TIMSS tests• Tertiary education is free for students (2013)• 88% adults have high school diploma or
equivalent
Estonian youth in the internet
• EU Kids Online II– All children in Estonia use Internet– 96% have broadband connection at home– 50% of our kids have had problems because of
being too long online– 40% of children have experienced bullying or other
online risks– Digital literacy is a little higher than in European
average – Parental mediation is reactive, not proactive
ML in Estonian curricula
• Cross-curricular theme since 2002– Traditions to teach creating media texts as a part
of classes of mother tongue– Possibility to teach 35 hours in gymnasium level
as voluntary subject
• 2011 national curriculum– CCT “Media education” => “Information
environment”– Mandatory course “Media and influences” in
gymnasium level Estonian
ME in school praxis
• Everything depends on school’s will and teacher’s competency
• No reports about reality of media education• Teacher’s understanding about media
literacy varies greatly• Pupils are introduced to the media they do
not use – Newspapers, TV-news, talk radio
Research program
• “Implementation strategies of cross-curricular themes in Estonian schools” 2009-2011– Based on old national curricula
• Representative sample of 10 schools• Several research instruments
– Analysis of school’s curricula– Interviews with schools’ stuff– Teachers’ survey– Pupils’ survey– Lesson observations (only media education)
Results
• Teachers interpret cross-curricular themes as natural part of educational process and do not reflect on their own actions or words.
• Teachers do not feel ready to deal with media education.
• Pupils are interested for media, but critical about the ways media is mentioned at school.
Why did we fail?
• In 2011, media education as CCT was in weaker position than other CCT-s.– No prove of positive change since
• Research did not explicitly reveal reasons of failure
• Combination with other research results allows to make suggestions
Reason 1: lack of cognitive models
• During pre-service education teachers have got no training for implementing CCT-s– How does teaching CCT differ from “time
consuming chit-chat about what the kids saw in TV”
• Attitudes towards media vary in generations and in persons– Is media worth of our attention?
Reason 2: overloaded curricula
• System of assessment supports good factual knowledge, not critical thinking
• Schools are rated by the results of standardized assessment
• Teacher concentrate on what they assume will be asked in the tests
Reason 3: lack of critical reading competency
• Traditional approach to texts is normative, not critical
• Methodological mousetrap – if you teach kids to critically listen and read media, they will use that skill on you
• Teacher’s inner insecurity
Reason 4: traditions
• Literacy = reading and writing and that we can already
• Media educations = writing news story + using internet
• If we have one “media crazy” teacher at school, other teachers are “safe”
• Media is connected to language, not to social sciences or arts
Reason 5: school culture
• Teacher’s cooperation is not supported
• What happens in the classroom is defined by teacher’s choice and ability, not by pupil’s needs
• The walls between subjects are too strong
Reason 6: different media usage
• Generational gaps, differences in media usage
• No reflection habits
• Prejudices and misbelieves about media
• Verbal vs visual processing?
Reason 7: text books
• Media is “handled” in text books of many subjects– Mostly in out-dated key
• Simplified concepts are spread constantly • Teachers are not able to correct printed
misunderstandings– Media has changed since last textbook issue!
Course “Media and influence”
• Gymnasium level Estonian
• One compulsory + one semi-voluntary practical course – 35 + 35 hours
• Teachers are NOT PREPARED to teach this course– Verbal vs audiovisual media, media
production etc
Good practices
• Schools have some free lesson resource and some freedom in curriculum development– Media is taught as voluntary subject in several
schools by professionals
• Under the name “media” you may find great variety of content– From history of journalism to multimedia
production
Good vibes
• Many media professionals are interested in teaching at schools
• Courses at bachelor level– Media education in secondary school
• Focused on media as cross-curricular theme
– Media education in gymnasium• Focused on 35hour course
– Media didactics• Focused on media production and supportive editing
School media
• Long traditions of school newspapers and radio
• NMK (Youth’s media club) production camps
• Other forms of non-formal education
• Separate projects and competitions for motivated students
Changing teacher education
• Communication skills are trained, not lectured
• Mediated communication is considered• Media didactics is still missing in pre-
service training• Audiovisual training techniques are used
– Possible positive influence
In-service training
• Association of Media Educators– NGO– Lack of resources and devoted people
• New national curricula = endless amount of courses for teachers
“Circle of life” or the way out?
Suggestions
• Media education must be built up based on pupils’ needs and media experiences, not from teachers’ competence or existing text books.
• Creating cognitive schemas during pre-service training of teachers
Sources
• National curricula– http://www.hm.ee/index.php?1512622– http://www.hm.ee/index.php?1512619