Implementing media literacy into the education curriculum of preservice primary school teachers

ДВНЗ "Донбаський державний педагогічний університет", м. Слов'янськ Донецької області, Україна

У статті проаналізовано стан системи медіаосвіти в контексті професійної підготовки вчителів початкової школи. Доведено, що інтеграція медіаграмотності у фахову підготовку студентів є актуальним питанням не лише для вищої освіти в Україні, а й в інших країнах. У статті проаналізовано Концепцію впровадження медіаосвіти в Україні (2010 р.), яка розкриває процес організації медіаосвіти в нашій країні. Аналіз сучасних досліджень, спрямованих на рівень організації медіаосвіти в Україні, розвиток навичок викладачів у медіаосвіті, посилення медіаграмотності учнів, покращення їхнього критичного мислення, виявив зацікавленість держави у формуванні та розвитку медіакомпетентних викладачів та медіаграмотних громадян. Мета статті - проаналізувати стан інтеграції формування медіаграмотності майбутніх учителів початкових класів у систему професійної освіти.

Після того, як медіаосвіта була оголошена ЮНЕСКО пріоритетом розвитку освіти у ХХІ столітті, питання модернізації підготовки вчителів у вищих навчальних закладах стало гостро актуальним. Аналіз досліджень, проведених ученими, довів, що медіаосвіта під час професійної підготовки включає цілі для розвитку вчителів початкових класів, завдання, розвиток цілісного сприйняття та аналізу медіатекстів, індивідуального творчого та критичного мислення. Складові медіаосвіти для вчителів включають 4 типи навчання, які тісно пов'язані між собою: методологічний; теоретичний; методичний; практичний. Вивчення та аналіз українського та світового досвіду свідчить про існування трьох напрямів інтеграції елементів медіаосвіти в навчальний процес в університеті: запровадження предмету як інваріантної частини навчальної програми (так звана спеціальна медіаосвіта); вирішення проблем медіаосвіти завдяки варіативній частині (факультативна медіаосвіта); вирішення проблем медіаосвіти загалом під час вивчення спеціальних курсів з методик навчання в початковій школі (інтегрована медіаосвіта).

Ключові слова: медіаосвіта; медіаграмотність; вищі навчальні заклади; інтеграція; майбутні вчителі початкових класів.

Problem setting in general. Recognition of information as one of the main intangible resources has led to an increase in its role in production, education, social and humanitarian activities, in the formation of public opinion and more. With the increase in the number of information flows that an ordinary person has to process every day, the need for a critical attitude to information and its consequences becomes relevant. This specific ability is called media literacy, which is one of the necessary components of a modern citizen, who through his or her public opinion and actions influences the development of the state and society.

Media education has been declared a priority for the development of education in the 21st century by UNESCO. Today, media education has great educational and broad social significance, because young learners, schoolchildren, and students - our younger generation - spend a lot of time watching TV or video on the Internet, listening to audio using various portable devices. This process is not usually controlled by parents or teachers, and it is difficult for our children to filter large flows of information without having the basics of media education. Therefore, one of the important functions of a teacher, in particular a primary school teacher, is the implementation of media education for students and their parents, and for this purpose teachers must have appropriate professional training.

Analysis of publications. Scholars believe that in Ukraine the issue of media education as a special area of research in the field of pedagogy and psychology begins to develop only in the late 90's of the twentieth century, while the first mention of media education (media culture, screen education) appeared abroad in the late 30's of the twentieth century.

In foreign countries there is a constant practice and rich experience of media education. Thus, the British researcher of media education L. Masterman (2003) identified four most important areas of media education: authorship, ways to achieve the effect of media text, the representation of the environment through the media, the media audience. According to L. Masterman (2003), the effectiveness of media education can be assessed by two main criteria: 1) the ability of students to apply their critical thinking in new situations and 2) the number of commitments and motivations expressed by them regarding the media. Swedish researchers C. Feilitzen and U. Carlsson (2003) emphasizes that media education should develop critical thinking, an essential element of which is the creation of students' own media products. According to the professor of University of Texas Kathleen Tyner (2011), who specializes in media education on the latest media and gaming technology, training should take place using audiovisual media and include analysis of media products, which can be interdisciplinary and interactive. British scholars A. Hart & D. Suss (2002) believe that media education should be based on the study of six key concepts: media agencies, media categories, media technology, media languages, media audience, and media representation.

The Resolution of the Presidium of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine approved the Concept of Media Education Implementation in Ukraine (2010), Protocol № 1-7 / 6-150, which is aimed at preparing and conducting a large-scale phased all-Ukrainian experiment on media education at all levels; priority introduction of the practice of school media education, which will be the main integration link in the formation of a holistic system of media education.

In the work of V. Ivanov and O. Shkoba (2012), a thorough analysis of the concepts "media education" and "media literacy" was carried out. The use of media educational technologies and means of media education is reflect ed in the works of O. Semenog, M. Yachmenyk (2019) (training of prospective language teachers), S. Izbash (2019) (training of prospective masters of education), D. Fatieieva (2012) (training of higher education students of non-philological specialties) and others. However, a lot of issues of the theory and practice of media education are still insufficiently covered by Ukrainian educators, including the aspects of preparing primary school teachers for media education.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the state of integration of media literacy of preservice primary school teachers into the system of professional education.

Results of the study. Media is used as an analogue of the term "mass media" (cinema, television, video, multimedia computer systems, Internet, radio, print, drawing, graphics, music, communication, including mobile), which contains the idea of communication between different structures of society and the world as a whole. The concept of "media culture" is associated with modern culturological theory to denote a special type of culture of the information society, which is a mediator between society and the state, society and government. Media culture is a set of information and communication tools, material and intellectual values produced by mankind in the process of cultural and historical development, which contribute to the formation of social consciousness and socialization of the individual. It includes a culture of transmission and perception of information, acting as a system of levels of personal development, able to perceive, analyse, evaluate media text, engage in media creation, learn new knowledge through the media (Izbash, 2019).

World pedagogy can no longer exist without one of the current areas of media culture - media education, associated with different types of media (graphic, print, audio, screen and other), various technologies, the study of mass communication to form a culture of communication with the media, creative, communicative abilities, critical thinking, skills of full perception, interpretation, analysis and evaluation of media texts, and learning different forms of self-expression with the help of media technology. The skills acquired as a result of this process are called media literacy / media competence or media culture.

Media education in professional training includes targets for the development of preservice primary school teachers, the development of a holistic perception and analysis of media texts, individual creative and critical thinking. A media -competent teacher, especially at primary school, must have knowledge in the field of pedagogy, art education, art history (including film studies, literature, theatre studies), culturology, psychology (art, artistic perception, creativity). A teacher must be able to analyse and expand the range of methods and forms of conducting classes with students. Comprehensive study of the press, cinema, television, video, Internet, virtual world of the computer, which synthesizes the features of almost all traditional arts, helps to eliminate a number of significant shortcomings associated with one -sided, isolated study of cultural objects and the world, a separate considerat ion of form and content.

Professional training of a primary school teacher is a complex system that operates in accordance with the goals, objectives and principles of training a specialist with higher education. Researchers, considering the system of teachers' professional training, include different components. Common components in the integration of media education of preservice primary school teachers are methodological and theoretical ones.

The components of media education for teachers include 4 types of training, which are closely related:

- methodological - knowledge in the field of aesthetics, philosophy, pedagogy and psychology; knowledge of a man as a spiritual being, personality and individuality; knowledge of historical ways of formation of mass media;

- theoretical - knowledge of the theory of mass media, their functions in modern society, methods of possible manipulation of mass consciousness, methods of analysis of mass media messages;

- methodical - mastering knowledge about the content, forms, methods and means of media education;

- practical - preservice primary school teachers' training for media education, developing skills and abilities in the field of media education, as well as skills and abilities of a special nature that allow to solve specific educational and practical problems. Thus, these types of training include the enhancing of preservice primary school teachers' skills and abilities to implement theoretical and methodological knowledge.

A. Masterman (2003) and N. Unyial and B. Kaur (2018) identify a technological component in the system of professional training of primary school teachers, which involves mastering special knowledge, skills and abilities, including media edu cation in order to effectively solve specific educational tasks in practice.

The result of preparation of primary school teachers for media education in the system of their professional training is a state of readiness for media education in primary school, which we understand as a stable integrative personal education of preservice primary school teachers, characterized by awareness of the need and a strong desire to work critically, create independently various media texts, as well as to demonstrate of a certain minimum of theoretical and methodological knowledge in the field of media education.

The study and analysis of Ukrainian and world experience shows the existence of three areas of integration of media education elements in the educational process at university:

- introduction of a subject as an invariant part of the curriculum (the so-called special media education);

- solving the problems of media education due to the variable part (optional media education);

- solving the problems of media education in general while studying special courses on teaching methods at primary school (integrated media education).

We agree with N. Unyial and B. Kaur (2018) that education system can attain maturity by healthy co-existence of media, technology, processes and people. The proposition of media education curriculum in this regard across the programme and courses has its benefits in higher education. Introduction of media and information literacy curriculum in higher education system will help the students to improve their critical thinking abilities for analysing, evaluating the media messages to survive and thrive better in the digital world and prepares them for global communication and social participation.

Q. Alagaran & J. Reuben (2015) describe that media education should be integrated in the communication curriculum and should be taught to the students in such a way where education become more responsive towards sustainable development goals through new conceptual model of 3Es: Explore Engage and Empower. Students are the future media practitioner. They need to be updated to align with the new media technologies. Teacher should take media education methods as a class activity and help the students to make them engage with new media exploration which empower them for sustainable development through creation and sharing the media messages .

Thus the media education, integrated in the maintenance of preservice primary school subjects, we define as:

- development of the ability of primary school teachers to "understand" artistic information transmitted through various communication channels (press, radio, television, video, computer programs, Internet, etc.);

- realization of the maximum independence of primary school teachers in the process of studying subjects in the context of intensification of artistic and productive activities (media education as a tool of developmental learning);

- development of information culture of primary school teachers as a necessary element of general culture and skills in the context of formation of information society.

Analysis of the research has shown that the integration of media education into the system of professional training of primary school teachers should take into account the changes in the information context of modern education, such as:

- loss of position of the school as the main source of information;

- lack of variability of education, which led to the lack of a monopoly on the creation of educational and methodological and didactic kits (the teacher must learn to choose the sources and means of teaching).

The main purpose of integrating media education of primary school teachers should be creating of the subject content and developing of functionally literate readers, viewers, listeners, able to adequately perceive the artistic image created in different languages, and "decode" the meanings of non-verbal images.

We share the opinion of scholars that the integration of media education affects the development of basic professional competences of primary school teachers, namely:

- study and analysis of the existing information competence (according to the content of thematic blocks, components, which comes both through official channels (pedagogical publishing houses - educational and didactic and methodical manuals in support of teaching subjects, etc.) and through mass media channels (press, Internet, television, etc.);

- audiovisual competences (development of a stable skill of "understanding" non-verbal information received through various communication channels);

- communicative competence (using intensive teaching methods based on communication).

The basic professional competences of preservice primary school teachers direct the integration of media education in the system of their professional development and focuses them on the information and cultural context, which determines the level of professional competence and ways to update not only the content of education but also pedagogical technologies.