Media education
Media education
Media education in the UK has been confined primarily to the secondary phase of education. Indeed, it is often stated that media studies is one of the fastest growing subjects (Buckingham 2003), despite being derided in some quarters as an apparently easy option (Lee 1999). There has been very little work undertaken in primary years in relation to media education and there is even less evidence of its presence in the early years curriculum.
This is despite the growing prevalence of media texts in young children’s lives. From birth, children are immersed in a media rich world (Rideout et al. 2003; Knobel 2005; Marsh 2005, 2006). There is evidence that pre- school children are engaged in a range of complex practices outside of the nursery which includes accessing websites, using interactive games on digital and satellite television, playing with mobile phones and using games consoles, such as PlayStation (Marsh 2005). In the Digital Beginnings study (Marsh et al. 2005), for example, 1852 parents of children aged from birth to 6 in England were surveyed in order to identify how their children used popular culture, media and new technologies in the home. There was widespread evidence that children were immersed in digital practices from a very young age and, by the time they attended early years settings for the first time, many were already competent with a range of technol- ogies. It would seem important, therefore, to enable them to develop fur- ther their critical skills in relation to media so that they become as skilful at navigating media texts as many appear to be in relation to print-based texts.
Media education involves a wide range of skills, knowledge and under- standing, developed in relation to various media, such as moving image (film and television), the Internet, radio, newspapers and magazines. While all of these elements are important, it has often been the case that media production has been ignored at the expense of analysis (Buckingham 2003). However, there is little doubt that work on moving image produc- tion in particular develops a range of skills, knowledge and understanding (for an outline of some of these, see bfi 2003). Burn and Leach (2004), as part of a systematic review on the use of ICT in English, reviewed 12 stud- ies in the UK which focused on moving image production. Of these 12 studies, four took place in primary schools; none were undertaken in nurseries. Burn and Leach suggested that moving image production was important because it drew on the knowledge that children develop in their everyday lives and it often involved collaborative work. In addition, the studies reviewed also suggested that work with moving image is highly motivational and, in some cases, can lead to increased attainment in print-based literacy (Parker 1999).
Reid et al. (2002) evaluated a project in which children in 50 schools worked on digital filming and editing. They suggested that the evidence from this project indicated that digital video production can:
• increase pupil engagement with the curriculum; • promote and develop a range of learning styles; • motivate and engage a wider range of pupils than traditional teaching
methods, so providing greater access to the curriculum. (Reid, et al. 2002: 3)
Because digital video production involves visual media, it can offer opportunities for those children who are more comfortable and competent