example of essay about media and information literacy

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Media Literacy, Essay Example

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Introduction

Media literacy is a complex issue that requires further investigation and evaluation in the modern era. It is important to identify the resources that are required to effectively adapt to a media-filled culture, whereby there are significant opportunities to achieve growth and change in the context of new ideas for growth and maturity for the average viewer/reader. It is known that “Interactivity as a core factor in multimedia is in some ways closely related to performance and can enable the viewer/reader/user to participate directly in the construction of meaning” (Daley 36). This quote is inspiring because it requires individuals to truly connect with the media on several levels that will have an instrumental impact on personal growth and the ability to be informative on many levels. The media saturates society through Facebook, Twitter, 24-hour news channels, and traditional forms such as magazines newspapers. Therefore, it is essential to identify a personal strategy that enables the reader/viewer to decipher through the hundreds if not thousands of messages that the media delivers on a daily basis so that individuals are better prepared to manage their own degree of literacy effectively.

For a website such as CNN.com, there appears to be a clash of sorts between that which is truly newsworthy and important to the lives of many people and that which might be deemed sensationalism to grab readers’ attention and an increased number of views, as well as ratings. This is a complex situation because the network and its accompanying website strive to remain competitive with the needs of its readers/viewers, while also requiring other factors to be considered that might improve their ability to decipher through the messages and to identify those which are most meaningful and appropriate within their lives. The homepage of the CNN website typically has an emerging or news-worthy story that is designed to grab the reader’s attention and to facilitate a response from the reader, perhaps a visceral reaction. This is part of the appeal of online news, as it attempts to draw viewers’ attention to what the website deems as newsworthy and of value to the reader. Although this is not always the case, the website achieves it key objective by attracting the reader enough to at least read the headlines and perhaps read some of the other stories that are listed on the homepage. Nonetheless, it is likely that many viewers will barely scratch the surface of an article because they lose interest or do not understand the backstory regarding the topic to keep reading. This is a key component of the high level of media illiteracy that exists in the modern era and that supports the development of new strategies to encourage readers to become less media illiterate and to improve their literacy regarding issues that generate much attention and focus from the masses.

There are critical factors associated with media literacy that require further consideration and evaluation, such as the tools that support the growth of individuals as they learn how to weave through the messages that they receive online, on television, and in print. Media literacy is more than merely reading stories, as it is about taking these stories in, forming opinions, developing a passion for a topic or an idea, and forming a bond with others who might share or contrast with these views (Media Literacy Project). In this context, it is important to identify the resources that are required to develop a strategy that supports media literacy on a much larger level that will impact society and its people as they develop a higher level of intelligence and/or acceptance of the ideas set forth within a given story or headline.

Overcoming media illiteracy requires the development of new strategies for individuals to take ideas that they read on a website such as CNN.com and to make them their own and perhaps apply them to their own lives in one or more ways. This is how media literacy works, as it enables individuals to transition from simply reading news stories online towards adapting them to their own lives in one way or another. This process engages readers and enables them to recognize the importance of improving their own level of literacy through these opportunities. It is imperative to recognize the value of media literacy as it applies to the human condition in the modern era, particularly as individuals have become increasingly dependent on the news as a part of their daily routines. This process supports and engages readers/viewers in the context of many different situations that enable them to cross over into a world where they have a better understanding of the media and how it impacts their lives in different ways.

Media literacy is a complex and ongoing phenomenon that has a unique impact on the lives of individuals. Many websites influence how people interpret the news, such as CNN.com, as they only tend to scratch the surface of news without any real opportunity to formulate opinions regarding the topics that are within. Therefore, it is important to identify some of the issues that are common in these stories and to recognize the importance of developing new approaches to stories that will have a positive impact on the response from readers/viewers. Media literacy is an ongoing process that requires the full attention and focus of individuals in order to accomplish the desired goals and objectives, while also considering the value of developing new perspectives that will encourage readers to take greater steps towards formulating their own opinions regarding stories and topics that may impact their own lives on many levels.

Works Cited

CNN.com. 11 May 2014: http://www.cnn.com/

Daley, Elizabeth. “Expanding the concept of literacy.” Educause, 11 May 2014: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0322.pdf

Media Literacy Project. “What is media literacy?” 11 May 2014: http://medialiteracyproject.org/learn/media-literacy

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Media and Information Literacy: Need, Importance, Example

Home Blog Learning Media and Information Literacy: Need, Importance, Example

The problem of educating consumers to evaluate, examine, and make use of the very diverse spectrum of media accessible in the 21st century has made media and information literacy an ambitious objective. Users now need to gain  media literacy  not just concerning conventional media and visual representation but also about the abundance of new technologies accessible and the creation of apps enabling completely novel methods of information transmission.  

The issue of who will educate our children has not yet been resolved. Is it not reasonable, in general, that  media and information literacy  become pillars of the educational curriculum since schools are the places where students learn critical thinking, analysis, and decision-making? With the best  Software Developer training  courses, you can learn diverse skills to advance your career.  

What Is Media Literacy?

Media literacy is a broad range of skills that enable individuals to consume, analyze, modify, and even create many media types. In essence,  media literacy  may assist someone in critically thinking about what they read, see, or hear in the media. In this context, the word "media" refers to a wide range of media, including the internet, movies, music, radio, television, video games, and publications.   

To be media literate, one must be capable of decoding media messages (understanding the message and the medium), assessing how the messages affect one's emotions, ideas, and behavior, and intelligently and responsibly producing media. In addition, pupils may benefit greatly from mastering  media information literacy .  

What Is Media and Information Literacy?

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) strives to empower people to engage in an inquiry process and critically think about the media and the content they receive. According to the UNESCO  meaning of media and information literacy , the goal is to empower people to take active roles in their communities and make ethical decisions. The modern media environment makes it extremely important to have media and informational competencies. Whether the news comes from reliable sources or not, it is important to consider who and what to believe critically.  

Why Is Media and Information Literacy Important?

Critical thinking is vital for citizens, particularly young learners who need to solve issues, gather information, develop views, assess sources, and more. MIL is a vital skill, especially with the abundance of data and accurate and false information accessible online. A person who knows the meaning of media literacy skills  will be able to ask inquiries and look for solutions to the internet debris because of the pace of information delivery.  

The instructors are given better information to empower the next generation of people throughout the teaching and learning process.  Media and information literacy's meaning  is to impart critical knowledge about the roles played by media and information channels in democracies, practical awareness of the circumstances, and the fundamental skills required to assess the effectiveness of media and information providers in light of their roles as expected.  

How Does Media and Information Literacy Work?

The foundation for learning media and the function of media in our society is through media and information literacy. MIL also imparts some of the fundamental abilities required for critical thinking, analysis, self-expression, and creativity, all of which are needed for members of a democratic society. From printing to radio, from video to the internet, citizens may analyze media and information in a variety of mediums.  

What Are Some Dimensions of Media and Information Literacy?

The term "media and information literacy" (MIL) refers to three often recognized dimensions:  

• Information literacy  
• Media literacy  
• ICT/digital literacy.  

 As UNESCO emphasizes, MIL brings together stakeholders, such as people, communities, and countries, to contribute to the information society. In addition to serving as an umbrella, MIL also contains various competencies that must be employed properly to critically assess each of its many components.  

Media Literacy Examples

Some  media literacy examples  are:  

1. Television   

For more than 50 years, families have enjoyed watching television. Today, viewers may access a movie or television show anytime they want, thanks to the pay-per-view or no-cost on-demand options offered by many cable or satellite systems.   

2. Blog Posts   

Anyone can instantly share information through the internet, which is a constantly evolving platform for quick, decentralized communication. The internet provides venues to educate, enlighten, inspire, and connect, as well as to persuade and control, including news sources, social media, blogs, podcasts, and smartphone applications.   

3. YouTube   

The YouTube platform engages audiences throughout the globe. With more individuals accessing the internet since its 2005 launch, YouTube's popularity has risen significantly.  

4. social media   

Social media is one of the most recent platforms that media strategists might use. Social media ads have become commonplace in less than ten years.  

5. News Papers   

This is the first kind of media that includes all printed materials. Reputable print media sources that are professionally produced and created to satisfy the demands of certain audiences.  

6. Magazines   

Since the middle class didn't start reading magazines until the 19th century, publishers had to start selling advertising space to cover the high cost of printing and increase circulation.  

7. Video games   

Video games have been around since the early 1980s, and kids have only become more and more fond of them. Modern video games are engaging and thrilling, and the lifelike images and audio give players the impression that they are really in the scenario.   

8. News Websites   

The internet is full of opinions from regular people who post with various intentions, which occasionally makes it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. However, some websites host peer-reviewed information from reliable sources that are essentially digital versions of traditional print sources.   

9. Podcasts   

An audio file that your viewers may listen to whenever they want is all that makes up a podcast. As pre-recorded content, podcasts are not ideal for situations requiring audience participation.  

What Is Information Literacy?

The term "information literacy" describes certain abilities required to locate, evaluate, and effectively utilize information. Information literacy refers to a person's understanding of their interaction with the digital world and their interpretation of the information they discover. It also entails the need to utilize such knowledge morally. Study techniques and academic writing, critical analysis, evaluation, and evaluation-based thinking are some traits of information literacy.  

Information Literacy Examples    

1. Communication   

Transfer of information or exchange has done orally, in writing, or by any other means. The effective communication or exchange of ideas and emotions  

• Verbal:  This includes face-to-face communication, telephone communication, and other media  
• Non-verbal:  This includes things like our posture, body language, gestures, how we dress or behave, and even our fragrance.  
• Written:  Writing comprises letters, emails, social media posts, books, periodicals, the internet, and other forms of written communication.  
• Visual:  Graphs and charts, maps, logos, and other visuals may all be used to convey information.  

2. Computer Technology   

The term "computer skills" describes the capacity to efficiently operate a computer and associated technology, and it includes both hardware and software expertise. You can also opt for a  Full-Stack Developer course with placement  to learn more about front-end and back-end web development and start your career as a full-stack developer.  

3. Critical Thinking   

The process of learning critical thinking techniques improves one's capacity to access information and related concepts. Making a rational decision based on an objective study of information and research results is referred to as critical thinking.   

4. Research   

The capacity to identify, acquire, collect, assess, use and present knowledge on a certain issue is referred to as having research abilities. These abilities include conducting research, conducting critical analysis, and formulating theories or solutions to specific problems.   

Importance of Media and Information Literacy

People in the frame will outright deny facts if they believe that the information contradicts their beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are related to politics, the effectiveness of vaccines, the presence of conditions like global warming, or even the nature of reality as we currently understand it. The fact that we can often verify the integrity and correctness of the information serves to make the entire scenario more annoying and terrifying.  

But other individuals don't care because they purposefully ignore or justify certain facts since they don't agree with them. And because the internet and allied media can mislead sensitive individuals by spreading these harmful notions.  

It's critical to have the ability to sort through the abundance of information available, whether we're discussing the personal lives of individuals or a corporation's marketing plan. Media and information literacy skills are essential for personal and professional aspects of life.  

Need for Media and Information Literacy in Today's World

Individuals in 2020 will have an overwhelming variety of media sources. The 24-hour news cycle, television, videos, podcasts, blogs, specialist websites, text messages, blogs, and vlogs are now available in addition to the print and radio media that are still in use.  

For better or worse, anybody can make content thanks to technological advancements.   

Regrettably, not everyone considers ethics or a truthful way. Even if some opinions are wholly erroneous and inaccurate, when individuals band together in an organized manner, it often gives the impression that they could have a point. As a result, we are constantly surrounded with genuine and deceptive information due to today's technological advancements. Thus, media and information literacy are more important than ever in the modern world.   

Difference Between Media, Technology, and Information Literacy    

Similar to digital citizenship, several definitions and terminology are used to  define media and information literacy . Whether we refer to it as information literacy, internet literacy, digital  media literacy , or any other term, the key premise is that literacy includes the capacity to interact intelligently with media and information sources. You can check out   KnowledgeHut Software Developer training  to develop a thorough understanding of the in-demand digital technologies to launch your career in software development.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Individuals who are proficient in media literacy are equipped with the ability to first think critically about media. It also fosters other abilities like creativity, teamwork, and communication and improves digital literacy skills by connecting with media, information, and technology. 

Media and information literacy includes all sorts of information resources, including oral, print, and digital. In today's increasingly digital, linked, and global society, media, and information literacy is a fundamental human right that fosters greater social inclusion. 

The five elements of information literacy include identifying, finding, evaluating, applying, and acknowledging sources of information. 

Information and media literacy skills are the combination of knowledge, attitudes, and abilities necessary to understand when and what information is required, where to get it, how to organize it once obtained, and how to utilize it ethically. 

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Essay on Media And Information Literacy

Students are often asked to write an essay on Media And Information Literacy in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Media And Information Literacy

Understanding media and information literacy.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is knowing how to smartly handle and use information from different sources like TV, internet, and books. It’s like learning to swim in a sea of endless news, pictures, and videos.

The Importance of MIL

It’s crucial because it helps you tell what’s true from what’s not. With MIL, you can make better choices about what to read, watch, and share. It’s like having a map in the world of media.

Learning to Check Facts

A big part of MIL is learning to check if something is correct. Before believing a story, see if trusted places also report it. It’s like double-checking your answers in a test.

Using Media Wisely

MIL teaches you to use media in a good way. It means not spending too much time on screens and knowing that not everything online is good for you. It’s about making smart media choices.

Sharing Responsibly

With MIL, you learn to think before you share something online. Ask yourself if it’s helpful, true, and kind. It’s about being a good friend in the digital world.

250 Words Essay on Media And Information Literacy

Media and Information Literacy, or MIL, is knowing how to smartly use the internet, newspapers, books, and other ways we get information. It’s like learning how to fish in a huge sea of news and facts. With MIL, you can tell which fish are good to eat and which might make you sick.

Why MIL is Important

Today, we get bombarded with tons of messages and pictures through our phones, TVs, and computers. Some of these are true, but others are not. MIL helps you sort out the truth from the lies. It’s like having a special tool that helps you know which friend is telling the truth and which is just making up stories.

One part of MIL is checking if something is true or not. Before you believe a story, ask yourself: Who wrote this? Why did they write it? Is there proof? It’s like being a detective, looking for clues to solve a mystery.

MIL also teaches you to use media in a good way. It means spending the right amount of time watching TV or playing games and also using the internet to learn new things. Think of it as a diet for your brain—you need a mix of fun, learning, and rest.

Sharing the Right Information

Lastly, MIL helps you share information the right way. Before you send a message or a picture to others, think: Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it true? By doing this, you can be a hero who helps stop lies and spread kindness.

500 Words Essay on Media And Information Literacy

Media and information literacy is like learning how to read a map in a world full of signs and messages. It teaches us how to understand and use the information we get from television, the internet, books, and other sources. Just like knowing how to read and write helps us in school, media literacy helps us make sense of the news, advertisements, and even social media posts we see every day.

The Need for Media Literacy

We live in a time when we are surrounded by a sea of information. From the moment we wake up to the time we go to bed, we are bombarded with messages from our phones, TVs, and computers. With so much information coming at us, it’s important to know what is true and what isn’t. This is where media literacy comes in. It helps us tell the difference between facts and opinions, and it teaches us to ask questions about what we see and hear.

Spotting Fake News

One of the biggest challenges today is fake news. This is information that is made to look real but is actually made up to fool people. Media literacy gives us the tools to spot fake news by checking where the information comes from, who is sharing it, and whether other reliable sources are reporting the same thing. By being careful and checking the facts, we can avoid being tricked by false information.

Using Information Wisely

Information isn’t just about news. It’s also about understanding how to use the internet safely and responsibly. Media literacy teaches us to protect our private information online, to be respectful to others, and to understand how our clicks and shares can spread information quickly, for better or for worse. It’s like learning the rules of the road before driving a car.

Advertising and Persuasion

Advertisements are everywhere, trying to persuade us to buy things or think a certain way. Media literacy helps us see the tricks advertisers use to grab our attention and make us want something. By understanding these tricks, we can make better choices about what we buy and believe.

Creating Media

Media literacy is not just about what we take in; it’s also about what we put out into the world. With smartphones and the internet, anyone can be a creator. Media literacy teaches us how to share our own stories and ideas in a clear and honest way, and how to respect other people’s rights and feelings when we do.

In conclusion, media and information literacy is an important skill for everyone, especially students. It helps us navigate through the vast amount of information we encounter every day and use it in a smart and ethical way. By being media literate, we can be better students, smarter consumers, and more responsible citizens in our digital world.

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• Working with sources
• Student Guide: Information Literacy | Meaning & Examples

Student Guide: Information Literacy | Meaning & Examples

Published on May 13, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Information literacy refers to the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources effectively. The term covers a broad range of skills, including the ability to:

• Navigate databases
• Find credible sources
• Cite sources correctly

Table of contents

Why is information literacy important, information literacy skills, finding sources, evaluating sources, citing sources, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about information literacy.

The vast amount of information available online means that it can be hard to distinguish accurate from inaccurate sources. Published articles are not always credible and sometimes reflect a biased viewpoint intended to sway the reader’s opinion.

Outside of academia, think of the concept of fake news : deliberately spreading misinformation intended to undermine other viewpoints. Or native advertising , designed to match other content on a site so that readers don’t notice they’re reading an advertisement.

It’s important to be aware of such unreliable content, to think critically about where you get your information, and to evaluate sources effectively, both in your research and in your media consumption more generally.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Information literacy is really a combination of skills and competencies that guide your research. Each stage of a research project, from choosing a thesis statement to writing your research paper , will require you to use specific skills and knowledge.

Being information literate means that you:

• Know how to find sources
• Can assess the authority and credibility of a source
• Can distinguish biased from unbiased content
• Can use relevant sources to inform your research
• Understand what constitutes plagiarism
• Know how to cite your sources correctly

An early stage in the research process is finding relevant sources. It’s important to understand how to search for these sources efficiently.

First, you need to consider what kind of sources you’re looking for. This will depend on the topic and focus of your project, and what stage you are at in the research process.

In the beginning, you may be looking for definitions or broad overviews of a topic. For this, you might use a tertiary source , like an encyclopedia or a dictionary, that is just for your own understanding. Further along, you might look for primary and secondary sources that you will actually cite in your paper. It’s important to ensure that all sources you consult are reliable.

• Websites: Look for websites with legitimate domain extensions (.edu or .gov).
• Search engines: When using search engines to find relevant academic journals and articles, use a trusted resource, like Google Scholar .
• Databases: Check your institution’s library resources to find out what databases they provide access to. Consider what databases are most appropriate to your research.

Finding the right sources means:

• Having a clear research problem
• Knowing what databases and journals are relevant to your research
• Knowing how to narrow and expand your search

Once you have a well-defined research problem, specific keywords, and have chosen a relevant database, you can use Boolean operators to narrow or expand your search. With them, you can prioritize and exclude keywords and search for exact phrases.

Evaluating the quality and credibility of a source is an important way of filtering out misinformation. A reliable source will be unbiased and informed by up-to-date research, and it will cite other credible sources.

You can evaluate the quality of a source using the CRAAP test . “CRAAP” is an acronym that informs the questions you should ask when analyzing a source. It stands for:

• Currency: Is the source recent or outdated?
• Relevance: Is it relevant to your research?
• Authority: Is the journal respected? Is the author an expert in the field?
• Accuracy: Is the information supported by evidence? Does the source provide relevant citations?
• Purpose: Why was the source published? What are the author’s intentions?

How you evaluate a source based on these criteria will depend on the specific subject. In the sciences, conclusions from a source published 20 years ago may have been disproven by recent findings. In a more interpretive subject like English, an article published decades ago might still be relevant.

Just as you look for sources that are supported by evidence and provide correct citations, your own work should provide relevant and accurate citations when you quote or paraphrase a source.

Citing your sources is important because it:

• Allows you to avoid plagiarism
• Establishes the credentials of your sources
• Backs up your arguments with evidence
• Allows your reader to verify the legitimacy of your conclusions

The most common citation styles are:

• APA Style : Typically used in the behavioral and social sciences
• MLA style : Used in the humanities and liberal arts
• Chicago style : Commonly used in the sciences and for history

It’s important to know what citation style your institute recommends. The information you need to include in a citation depends on the type of source you are citing and the specific citation style you’re using. An APA example is shown below.

You can quickly cite sources using Scribbr’s free Citation Generator .

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

• Know how to find credible sources
• Use relevant sources to inform your research

It can sometimes be hard to distinguish accurate from inaccurate sources , especially online. Published articles are not always credible and can reflect a biased viewpoint without providing evidence to support their conclusions.

Information literacy is important because it helps you to be aware of such unreliable content and to evaluate sources effectively, both in an academic context and more generally.

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

The CRAAP test is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are considering using. It is an important component of information literacy .

The CRAAP test has five main components:

• Currency: Is the source up to date?
• Relevance: Is the source relevant to your research?
• Authority: Where is the source published? Who is the author? Are they considered reputable and trustworthy in their field?
• Accuracy: Is the source supported by evidence? Are the claims cited correctly?
• Purpose: What was the motive behind publishing this source?

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Ryan, E. (2023, May 31). Student Guide: Information Literacy | Meaning & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 25, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/information-literacy/

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Digital Literacy — The Importance of Media and Information Literacy

The Importance of Media and Information Literacy

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Published: Sep 1, 2023

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Chapter 9: Media and Information Literacy

Oreva had nearly two dozen tabs up, showing various websites, videos, and journal articles on her research topic. At first, she was excited by all the information she was findings on the Mali Empire, a Western African Kingdom that flourished from about 1200 to 1600 ADE, that she wanted to present her informative speech on for class. However, as the night deepened, and it dawned on her that she might be pulling an all-nighter at the library, she became more and more despondent. Now, she just listlessly clicked from tab to tab, unable to concentrate on any source for long because there was just so much to read on the topic. A hand on her should startled her out of her reverie: “Hey, are you okay,” said a woman with glasses and brown hair, standing behind her and looking over her shoulder. “Wow, it looks like you have quite a lot of work ahead!” “ Tsh -yeah,” Oreva grumped. “I’m going to be here all night at this rate.” “Do you know how you’re going to organize all of those sources? Do you have some system?” “If you mean, ‘Do I have enough coffee to stay awake all night reading’ then yes,” Orevea joked. “Nah, I mean an actual system , ” the woman laughed. “Do you mind if I gave you some tips? ” “ Sure , but why are you being so helpful? To I look that clueless? ” Oreva asked. “ Oh goodness, no , ” the person reassured . “ I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name’s Rebecca and I’m a research librarian. I’m here to help!”

Have you faced the same trouble as Oreva when looking for credible information? On the surface, it seems like it has never been easier to find material on any topic, whether on politics, fashion, science, relationships, or culture. To get this information, most people turn to search engines. Google search is the most used search engine on the internet, constituting nearly 92% of search engine market and processing nearly 9 billion requests per day (Mohsin, 2023). Although Google is an amazingly efficient search engine, as we talked about in Chapter Eight, it is a webcrawler program —meaning it picks up anything on the web that it detects is similar to your search keywords as well as other considerations such as advertisements and traffic. As such, search engines such as Google , Bing , Yahoo , or DuckDuckGo do not, and cannot, evaluate whether the information your search gets is necessarily factual, reliable, or credible, only what is related or paid for.

Another way that many people get their information from is their preferred social media platform. As Walker and Matsa (2021) found, Facebook still has the largest share of U.S. Americans who get their news from that platform (31%). However, for adults between 18-29, the preferred platforms are Snapchat (63%), TikTok (52%), Reddit (44%), and Instagram (44%) (Walker & Matsa, 2021). Collectively, approximately 79% of U.S. Americans reported getting news through social media websites. Much like the Google search engine, these searches may lead you to what is viral, popular, or trending, but not necessarily what is factual. Social media platforms also inhabit a grey area in media laws—on one hand they are not content producers of the news and have little legal obligation to ensure what is shown on their platform is credible information. On the other hand, they have enormous influence on how people interact with the news because it is the primary way people do engage with media content. Some social media companies have tried to—with varying degrees of success and effort—to combat misinformation , but since their revenue is advertisement generated, they have a monetary incentive to push information that promotes engagement (no matter the reason) not facts.

Unfortunately, there are many bad actors who take advantage of this weakness in search engines or social media platforms. For example, China’s “ Great Fire Wall ” serves to keep out content produced outside of their country while its 50 Cent Army (or wǔmáodǎng) amplifies pro-China propaganda abroad. Russia’s Internet Research Agency is a well-known troll-farm, spreading disinformation and propaganda in an effort to increase tensions, unrest, and dysfunction within enemy countries (including the United States) (Craig Silverman, 2023) while cracking down on Western internet traffic as it pursues its unjust war against Ukraine (Bandurski, 2022). Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter , has cut down on Twitter’s infrastructure to identify, track, and remove untrue, malicious, and unsubstantiated content (Drapkin, 2023) while Facebook has banned university professors studying the spread of disinformation on its platform (Bond, 2021). Entire platforms, such as The Parlor , Truth Social , 4Chan , and 8Kun pride themselves on having little or no content moderation, allowing users to spread everything from targeted hate campaigns to weird or malicious conspiracy theories such as QAnon .

Social media influencers use their vast networks to sell their products, generate advertisement revenue, and run morally and legally dubious operations, such as Stephen Crowder, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Andrew Tate. All of these problems, and more, are even more frightening in the context of research that has found that the top false news traveled through social networks faster and reach approximately 100 times more people than true news (Vosoughi et al., 2018). Your responsibility, as a content consumer and producer, is to make sure that you can identify, avoid, and create information that is rigorously made and vetted. In a democratic society, people make decisions, and their decisions can only be as good as the information they have to inform them. Spreading or consuming bad information (whether intentionally or not) makes it impossible to come to the best decisions for laws or policies for our communities.

Vetting Sources

The challenge of today is not finding information—it’s finding good information. Unfortunately, most people do not develop their information literacy skills and, instead, rely on mental shortcuts to make their decisions. For example, McGeough and Rudick (2018) found that students in public speaking classes made appeals to authority (e.g., “I found it in the library so it must be credible”), appeals to form/style (e.g., “The article was professionally formatted and in a print newspaper so I thought it was reliable”), appeals to popularity (e.g., “A lot of people use this source so it must be good”), and appeals to their own beliefs (e.g., “I am pro-guns and 2 nd Amendment, so I searched for information on ‘problems with gun control’”) when making their presentations. There are many reasons people rely on these shortcuts—lack of formal education, time constraints, stress, or unwillingness to develop ideas that are contrary to their important social groups (e.g., their religion or family). These shortcuts can influence how you vet, read, and use information for your presentations. Many times, students make decisions to choose their information sources because they have limited time (e.g., waiting until the night before an assignment is due) and cognitive bandwidth (e.g., they are stressed due to other class’s demands on time and attention). However, now is the time to develop these skills. If you do not know how to identify or create factual content, then you are more likely to make information choices based on convenience instead of rigor.

In this section, we offer one way that you can start to develop a stronger set of information literacy skills. We wish to be clear—this is not the only way to vet information, nor should this be the end of your journey on being a better information consumer or producer. You will need to routinely practice, revise, and update your skills. Doing so is especially important because internet trolls, online scammers, predatory corporations, and malicious governments are constantly updating their strategies for spreading misinformation and disinformation. Here, we’ll use the information literacy program SIFT to offer some guidance on vetting your sources (Caufield, 2017), informed by the best practices of the Association of College and Research Libraries .

The SIFT method has been found to an excellent way for students to begin learning information literacy skills because it encourages lateral reading (Brodsky et al., 2021). SIFT includes four moves: stop, investigate the source, find trusted coverage, and trace back to the original.

Before you even begin searching the Internet for information, STOP. What is your research purpose (e.g., to persuade, inform, or motivate)? What are you trying to do with the information you are looking at? Are you being open to competing or opposing viewpoints or have you searched using keywords that will automatically limit what kind of information you are going to get? Often, novice searchers have a vague idea of what they are looking for and then land on the first source that seems to connect to their topic. If you search this way, you are likely to land on information that has a particular viewpoint and then find yourself over focusing on it and excluding other information. Worst case scenario, you may find yourself in an echo chamber regardless of the credibility of information. Next, once you have found a source or a series of sources, STOP. Do you already think this source is credible, and if so, why? Relying on it because it is the first result of a search or because it agrees with your beliefs are poor reasons for relying on it. If you don’t know if it is credible or not, what criteria will you use to ascertain whether the source is worthwhile? Here, you should look at the reputation of the outlet (e.g., the news media corporation, academic journal, social media content producer, or individual expert or witness). Do they have a history of truth telling? Or, maybe they only have a history of reporting information that already affirms your beliefs or discounts/ignores competing views. If you don’t know if the source has a history of disseminating credible information, then you need to execute the next moves to ascertain its reliability.

Investigate the Source

If you have encountered a source that you never have before and/or if you don’t know if it is reputable or not, then you need to do some research on the outlet and/or author. What is their expertise and agenda? For example, many non-profit policy organizations such as the Heartland Institute , Heritage Institute , Cato Institute , Americans for Tax Reform , and the Family Research Council receive millions of dollars in donations from tobacco, oil, and gas industries or conservative religious groups. As result, a great deal of their policy downplays the harms of smoking cigarettes, hydraulic fracturing (i.e., fracking), climate change, and/or attacks LGBTQ rights and families. Many people might believe these are reputable sources because they are .org sites instead of .com sites, but .org simply means that it is an organization—there is no obligation on the part of that organization to give better information due to its .org status. This is not to say you should never visit these sources. There might be a need to know what a problem is or why it hasn’t been solved yet, and going to sources that promulgate bad information is a way to trace how untrue, harmful, or hateful content can negatively affect decision-making about a variety of issues. However, sources that are biased because of politics, faith, money, advertisement, or personal relationships must be approached with caution. By figuring out not just what a source says, but why it says it and who benefits from its advocacy, you can be a better content producer and consumer for your community.

Find Trusted Coverage

Next, is their advocacy in line with other outlets and, if not, why? That is, you should go to websites that offer information on the same topic to see if there is broad consensus or disagreement about the topic. For example, maybe the source you are using is older than a more recent source, indicating that knowledge in this field has changed. Or, the author has a fringe or minority view within a field that has broad consensus about an issue. To be clear, we are not saying that information that is generally agreed upon is always correct. However, when there is broad agreement on a topic then it requires a greater burden of proof for those who advocate against the established position. For example, NASA reports that approximately 97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is occurring, is affected by human pollution, and will negatively affect people around the world. But, don’t just take NASA’s word for it— The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , the United Nations , World Health Organization , and hundreds of other governmental, corporate, non-profit, and academic sources agree on these propositions. To disagree with this, a person would need to demonstrate climate change is not occurring, that if it is occurring humans aren’t the cause for it, and/or that climate change will not harm people— an extremely high burden of proof given the number of sources that agree these things will occur or are occurring. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and refuting generally agreed on propositions is considered an extraordinary claim. All-too-often, people promote misinformation or disinformation by claiming to have insider knowledge that “they” (i.e., Big Government , Big Pharma , the Illuminati , the Lizard People , etc.) don’t want you to have. This type of discourse is especially useful on U.S. Americans because, culturally, most of our media and history is shaped by the idea that brave truth-tellers, patriots, or morally clear-eyed individuals are often a lone voice against a throng of the evil and ignorant. However, it is important to remember that real-life decisions should be based on facts and facts are something that can and should be agreed to and recognized by the majority of experts on a given topic (no, your uncle posting bad memes information from FreedomEagle.net/ patriotsforcoal is not an expert!). Those who cannot meet this burden of evidence only use this cultural idea to hide the fact that they simply cannot meet the evidential burden of their position and do not want you to draw on other sources that might disagree with their analysis.

Trace the Original

Finding the original source of information is more and more important as it becomes easier to share content and information across the Internet and social media. For example, in response to a medical study, news outlets reported: “Silent, not deadly; how farts cure diseases” (Burnett, 2018), “Sniffing your partners’ farts could help ward off disease” (Sun, 2017), and “Scientists say sniffing farts could prevent cancer” (UPI, 2014). However, tracing their claims to the original study reveals a much different picture. The study (Le Trionnaire, 2014) showed how hydrogen sulfide, compound associated with (among other things) the disgusting smell of rotten eggs or human flatulence, may be delivered to the mitochondria of cells to as a way to fight disease and cancer. The study did not say farts cured disease or cancer or even that the compound hydrogen sulfide did; rather, the report made the more limited claim that the compound may be used as a tool in fighting disease and cancer and its efficacy is promising. Pictures, video clips, tweets, reactions, and even (as we see in this example) full medical studies can be condensed into clickbait titles that are meant to provoke anger, frustration, laughter, or sadness—because in the world of social media algorithms all of those emotions translate into engagement which means more advertisement dollars. You must be able to trace information to its original source and then evaluate whether the information that you have read is accurately reported and credible. Otherwise, you may find yourself sniffing farts for no reason!

It is important to remember that no one, single study, article, podcast, or YouTube video proves or disproves anything. Rather, it is only in reading laterally multiple sources or studies published over years that a clearer picture of credible information emerges. Using SIFT, you can begin to develop the skills that allow you to see information claims as part of a wider network of efforts moving from ignorance to knowledge. For example, the non-profit group Center for Scientific Integrity that tracks retracted academic articles (i.e., articles that have been published but later removed because of research misconduct or fabrication) shows how some scholars have abused their responsibilities as researchers. In one case, Yoshitaka Fuji, a Japanese researcher in anesthesiology and ophthalmology, was forced to retract 183 published papers (Stromberg, 2015)!

On one hand, it is chilling to know how long Fuji was able to elude detection. On the other hand, catching errors (whether intentionally made or not) is exactly why scholars engage in lateral reading. Researchers may review the findings of a study against other studies to see if their findings agree with past work or conduct the same tests to see if they get approximately the same result. If they don’t, then it raises questions about the surety of the previous study’s claims, inviting scrutiny and changing knowledge claims as more evidence supports or doesn’t the original study—which is ultimately how Fuji’s research was found to be fraudulent.

All of this is to say, there is no magic bullet, no one good type of source that will ensure that you have good information. It is a constant practice and one that encourages you to not take mental shortcuts. Working to make sure you are informed, demanding that your sources provide factual information, and informing others with high quality information are the only ways that all of us live in a healthy information ecosystem. As the old saying warns, “Garbage in, garbage out,” or, when you consume bad information, you’ll likely produce bad decisions or conclusions. So, don’t settle for garbage!

Reading Journal Articles

You’ve found a variety of sources, used SIFT to test them, and feel confident that they offer a clear picture of the side or sides of an issue. Great! But, as you begin trying to read the journal articles, you find them to be incredibly dense and difficult to get through. Don’t worry—this is a common problem experienced by novice researchers. We find that one of the challenges of reading research articles is that novice researchers try to read the entire article from start to finish to ascertain if it is worth using or vetting. We wish to be clear—not all journal articles follow the format guidelines we explain here. Some articles are opinion pieces, reviews of books, arguments with fellow researchers, or creative pieces that aren’t easily captured in the type of organization we outline here. Therefore, we implore you to go beyond the advice we give here and develop a wide set of tools for reading a variety of research articles.

However, we do believe this approach to reading articles a great place to start and can provide the foundation for being a good researcher. Therefore, we encourage you to follow this order of reading your articles as you begin researching so you can reduce your time searching for articles, increase your comprehension, and utilize the most valuable knowledge in the manuscript. As you develop as a researcher in your area of study, you will most likely need to develop new skills until you reach mastery in your subject.

Title/Abstract

The title of a research article will contain the major concepts, ideas, theories, method of analysis, or insights from the study. For example, the study “ Highlighting the intersectional experiences of students of color: A mixed methods examination of instructor (mis)behavior ” by Vallade et al. (2023) describes the research participants (i.e., students of color), major concepts (i.e., intersectional experiences and instructor (mis)behaviors), and research methodology (i.e., mix-methods or a combination of quantitative and qualitative research). You should also read the study’s abstract, which appears on the first page of the article. The abstract is usually a 100–300-word outline of the study’s purpose, relevant literature, research method/design, major findings, and implications. By reading the title/abstract, you can get a good idea on whether the article connects to the topic you are studying or not. If not, go onto the next article and read its title and abstract. If so, then you need to proceed to the next step.

Introduction

The introduction of the article is usually not notated or labeled as such. Rather, it is simply the first part of the article, which proceeds from the very start to the first major section heading of the article. The introduction of the article should detail the research purpose, which usually contains two elements. The first is the ‘practical’ issue or the actual challenge, issue, or topic the article responds to. This information lets the reader know what problems they will be able to solve or mitigate by finding out what the researchers found. The second, is the ‘theoretical’ issue, which details the academic questions or gaps that the study tries to address. This content shows the reader how the researchers are building on past scholarship in this area and justifying the need for the present study.

Literature Review

The final section you should read is the literature review. Sometimes the literature review is named ‘Literature Review,’ but often it is not explicitly named. Instead, it is understood that the first major section heading after the introduction is the beginning of the literature review. The purpose of the literature review is to provide a summarization of all the past research that has been conducted in the past about the topic. The literature review should also show how the current research is meaningfully building on that information and should end with the hypotheses or research questions that the study will address. Remember, you should rarely, if ever, cite work from the literature review. Rather, when you find any important information you find in this section, you should find the literature being cited in the reference section and go read that particular study or source.

The method section will describe who (e.g., the participants and their demographic information) or what (e.g., the documents, speeches, or content) they got data from. It will also detail what procedures were used to gather data (e.g., surveys or interviews) or texts (e.g., documents, speeches, or content). For example, in a statistical report, it will show what survey instruments were used and how reliable they have been in past studies as a way to justifying their use in the present study. Finally, the section will detail how the researchers analyzed the data in order to come up with new insights. This could be the author or author team’s explication of their statistical procedures used to test a hypothesis. The method section is important to examine because even if the results and discussion are important, if the method section shows a poorly designed research project, then those insights showed be read with extreme caution.

Results/ Discussion

Now you are going to skip everything between the introduction and the section labeled ‘Results’ or ‘Findings’ and ‘Discussion’ or ‘Implications’ in the article. Novice researchers often think that the whole research article is something that can be cited from. However, information in the introduction, literature review, or method sections is often a summary of past research or information on the topic. In other words, it a secondary source, since you are relying on the author of the present article to understand and convey the information from past studies to you. The information in the results section should be the statistical tests, interview excerpts, or other information that is produced through the application of the research method. The discussion section should summarize what the findings or results of the research article were as well as detail (or, discuss) the implications of the study for the production of knowledge on the topic. Much like the introduction, the discussion will most likely explain the ‘practical’ and ‘theoretical’ implications of the study. In other words, it will describe how the knowledge produced through the research should inform peoples’ actions as they try to address the problems the research responds to (practical) as well as make a case for how it extends or challenges the existing research in that area for future researchers to build on in their own work (theoretical). The information in the article that is new, or is a primary source, is the information in the results and discussion. Therefore, if you find something in the literature review that is helpful, important, or worth noting, you should go to the reference list, find the source, and read the original source so you can cite it in your own work. If you don’t, and you cite information from the literature review in your own work, this is a form of academic dishonesty because you never actually read the original source.

We admit, sometimes research writing is needlessly difficult to read. We remember the first time we read an article that stated, “Due to the established lacunae in the field…” and were intimidated by the word “lacunae.” What does it mean? How important is it? It sounds so daunting! Lacunae, however, just means “gaps” or “holes.” The author, in establishing that there are missing answers to questions that were important to their field of study, used a word that immediately caused consternation and confusion from their audience. This word choice is an example bad writing because it needlessly confuses their audience, which should always be avoided! However, sometimes, technical jargon is necessary. The difference between a vein or artery, mitochondrion or ribosomes, verb or adjective, or discourse and rhetoric are important distinctions within their respective fields of study.

Often, we find that novice researchers, when encountering a new or unfamiliar word, just pass over the word in their reading and don’t use dictionaries to look it up because they: A) aren’t motivated to; or B) they feel like doing so is an admission of ignorance. However, if you wish to be able to consume and vet knowledge from a source, you will need to be able to understand what is written and that burden, ultimately, falls on you (the reader) to do the work to figure it out. Passing over a word, whether due to laziness or anxiety, robs you of a chance to grow your knowledge on a subject and eliminates the possibility that you can use or refute the information in a meaningful way.

Verbal and In-Text Ways to Cite Sources

After you have found a wide range of sources on the topic, winnowed them down to the ones that are the most reliable and credible, and mined them for information regarding your topic, it is time to put them in your speech or writing. We find that citing information can be some of the most anxiety producing work that students do. Often, they report getting incomplete, conflicting, or erroneous information about citing sources. As a result, many students put little effort into their citation practices because they think, “I’m going to get it wrong anyway, so why try?”

Conversely, some students rely solely on computer apps, such as EasyBib , BibTex , or Bib I t Now to do their citations for them. Relying on apps doesn’t build your information literacy skills. Doing so means you never bothered to learn how to do it correctly since there was an app that you thought would do it for you and, therefore, you won’t be able to tell if the program is producing a correct citation or not. As we’ll see later, these programs often incorrectly cite work. In short, you need to learn how to properly cite materials and practice those skills.

We cannot stress enough that properly citing your sources is an incredibly important practice in your work. Not only does it ensure that you are sharing information with others in a responsible way by letting them know where you got your information from, it also increases your credibility with your audience because they recognize your effort to keep them fully informed. Citation guides provide standardized system for reporting your sources so that your listeners or readers know exactly how and where to find your sources. There are a variety of ways to cite your information for your audience, but in this chapter, we’ll focus on the two most common styles: the American Psychological Association (APA) style guide and the Modern Language Society (MLA) handbook.

Verbal Citation

When giving a presentation, you need to verbally cite your sources so your audience can ascertain the quality of your sources. Failing to do so can make your audience to doubt or disagree with the content of your speech even if your information is correct. To avoid this, you need to verbally cite your sources in a way that supports your work while not being overly cumbersome to your speech and interrupting your flow. We suggest you use three pieces of information every time you cite something verbally: Name of Source , Credibility Statement of Source , Year of Publication . Here are a few examples of what you might say:

Dr. McGeough, who is a leading researcher in ancient Greek rhetorical philosophy, argued in a 2023 research article that…

In 2022, the World Health Organization, an internationally renowned inter-governmental body that studies health and medicine, reported…

In a research study spanning from 2015 to 2020, the internationally recognized data scientists at the Pew Research Center tracked voting habits of various groups and found…

Do you see the Name of Source , Credibility Statement of Source , Year of Publication in each of the examples? Although you can report the information in a variety of ways, each contains the information. Typically, you don’t have to give more information than this because doing so makes your speech awkward and filled with a lot of extraneous information. If your audience wants more specific information about your sources, they can ask for your written citations. You should have a “References” (APA) or “Works Cited” (MLA) paper or (if using a slideshow app such as PowerPoint or Google Slides) on the final slide. In those case, make sure to write out the reference information based on our advice below.

In- T ext Citation

There are two primary ways that you can cite information in text, or in the body of your writing. The first is called summary or synopsis . Luckily, we cite and report information the same whether it is a summary or synopsis. Let’s take the following passage that we might find in an academic journal article (sometimes called a periodical ): “After surveying 200 participants, the study found that people like dogs more than cats, hamburgers more than hotdogs, and cake more than pie.” Now, we’ll create a summary in both APA and MLA:

McGeough and Golsan (2023) discovered that people like dogs more than cats.

Researchers have discovered that people like dogs more than cats (McGeough & Golsan, 2023).

McGeough and Golsan discovered that people like dogs more than cats (1).

Researchers have discovered that people like dogs more than cats (McGeough and Golsan 1).

The sentences can be written either way, but both contain information that is specific to their citation style. Notice how in APA, the in-text citation shows the authors’ last names, the year of publication, and uses the ampersand symbol (“&”) whereas the authors last names, the page number the information was found on, and the word “and” was needed in MLA (we made up the year of publication and page number for the sake of the example). Also, notice how the summary focuses on one finding, even though the research found peoples’ preferences on three different things. If we had reported on all three findings, in our own words, then it would have been a synopsis. We can also write a direct quote if we cite it properly. For example:

Past research has found that “people like dogs more than cats, hamburgers more than hotdogs, and cake more than pie” (McGeough & Golsan, 2023, p. 1).

Past research has found that “people like dogs more than cats, hamburgers more than hotdogs, and cake more than pie” (McGeough and Golsan 1).

Note, that in APA, we have now added the page number to help a reader find the information that we are quoting whereas citation in MLA doesn’t change. In both cases, though, we use quotation marks to indicate that we are directly quoting material from a source. You must copy information from the source word-for-word if you are using a direct quotation.

Written References

Your references (APA) or works cited (MLA) pages are where you collect all of the information for your sources into one place. Doing this makes it easier for your reader to find the information you use in your writing. Let’s use the article, “Academic advising as teaching: Undergraduate student perceptions of advisor confirmation” and see how to cite it properly in your papers. First, let’s compare out how the citation appears on the article’s first page , Bib It Now , and proper APA :

Scott Titsworth, Joseph P. Mazer, Alan K. Goodboy, San Bolkan & Scott A. Myers (2015) Two Meta-analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning, Communication Education, 64:4, 385-418, DOI: 10.1080/03634523.2015.1041998

(Article’s first page)

Titsworth, S., Mazer, J. P., Goodboy, A. K., Bolkan, S., & Myers, S. A. (2015). Two Meta-analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning. Communication Education. Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.uni.edu/doi/full/10.1080/03634523.2015.1041998

(Bib It Now)

Titsworth, S., Mazer, J. P., Goodboy, A. K., Bolkan, S., & Myers, S. A. (2015). Two meta-analyses exploring the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning. Communication Education , 64 (4), 385-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2015.1041998

Can you see the differences? The third citation is the correct way to cite it in APA. The differences you see are why it is so important to know how to cite information properly. If you just relied on the journal article or app, then your citation would be incorrect and you wouldn’t be informing your audience of your information in the standardized way. Let’s try it with MLA now:

Titsworth, Scott, et al. “Two Meta-analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning.” Communication Education, 9 June 2015, www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.uni.edu/doi/full/10.1080/03634523.2015.1041998.

Titsworth, Scott, et al. “Two Meta-analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning.” Communication Education , vol. 9, no. 4, 2015, pp. 385-418, https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2015.1041998 .

Again, can you spot the differences? The final example is the correct way to cite an article in MLA.

The examples we just gave are for journal articles, but there is a unique way to cite almost anything: tweets, textbooks, websites with authors, websites without authors, YouTube videos, and a whole lot more. There are thousands of books, blogs, online writing centers, and YouTube/TikTok videos on citation. We suggest you visit a reputable website that offers sample papers so you can compare your work to what is the correct, standard way of citing and formatting your paper. We recommend (and often use ourselves!) the Online Writing Lab (or OWL) website from Purdue University, which offers sample papers in APA and MLA .

As you look at the sample paper and your own, sing the children’s song from Sesame Stree t : “One of these things is not like the others/One of these things just doesn’t belong/Can you tell which thing is not like the others/By the time I finish my song?” That is, if your paper looks different than the sample paper’s formatting, in-text citation, or reference/works cited page, yours is most likely the one that is incorrect—fix it! When students turn in papers that do not adhere to proper formatting, then there are two primary explanations: either the student didn’t take the time/energy to do the work properly or the student cannot follow Sesame Street rules and make corrections to their paper based on comparing their work to a sample paper. Frankly, neither is a good look, which is why your professors (and audience) will get frustrated if you don’t take the time to properly reference your sources.

When you are trying to inform, persuade, or motivate your audience, you need to be able to communicate why you have come to the conclusions you have based on the evidence you have gathered. If you cannot explain why you believe something or if you believe something for poor reasons (e.g., “my family believes this,” “my friends all say this,” or “everyone knows this”), then you have not lived up to your responsibility to be a good, careful researcher. Being able to vet your evidence is the first step to not only demanding that you are an informed person, but that others around you live up to their responsibility to communicate in ways that are factually supported about important topics or problems you and your community may face.

Communication for College, Career, and Civic Life Copyright © by Ryan McGeough; C. Kyle Rudick; Danielle Dick McGeough; and Kathryn B. Golsan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What is media literacy, and why is it important?

The word "literacy" usually describes the ability to read and write. Reading literacy and media literacy have a lot in common. Reading starts with recognizing letters. Pretty soon, readers can identify words -- and, most importantly, understand what those words mean. Readers then become writers. With more experience, readers and writers develop strong literacy skills. ( Learn specifically about news literacy .)

Media literacy is the ability to identify different types of media and understand the messages they're sending. Kids take in a huge amount of information from a wide array of sources, far beyond the traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) of most parents' youth. There are text messages, memes, viral videos, social media, video games, advertising, and more. But all media shares one thing: Someone created it. And it was created for a reason. Understanding that reason is the basis of media literacy. ( Learn how to use movies and TV to teach media literacy. )

The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media . We don't always know who created something, why they made it, and whether it's credible. This makes media literacy tricky to learn and teach. Nonetheless, media literacy is an essential skill in the digital age.

Specifically, it helps kids:

Learn to think critically. As kids evaluate media, they decide whether the messages make sense, why certain information was included, what wasn't included, and what the key ideas are. They learn to use examples to support their opinions. Then they can make up their own minds about the information based on knowledge they already have.

Become a smart consumer of products and information. Media literacy helps kids learn how to determine whether something is credible. It also helps them determine the "persuasive intent" of advertising and resist the techniques marketers use to sell products.

Recognize point of view. Every creator has a perspective. Identifying an author's point of view helps kids appreciate different perspectives. It also helps put information in the context of what they already know -- or think they know.

Create media responsibly. Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want to say how you want to say it, and understanding that your messages have an impact is key to effective communication.

Identify the role of media in our culture. From celebrity gossip to magazine covers to memes, media is telling us something, shaping our understanding of the world, and even compelling us to act or think in certain ways.

Understand the author's goal. What does the author want you to take away from a piece of media? Is it purely informative, is it trying to change your mind, or is it introducing you to new ideas you've never heard of? When kids understand what type of influence something has, they can make informed choices.

When teaching your kids media literacy , it's not so important for parents to tell kids whether something is "right." In fact, the process is more of an exchange of ideas. You'll probably end up learning as much from your kids as they learn from you.

Media literacy includes asking specific questions and backing up your opinions with examples. Following media-literacy steps allows you to learn for yourself what a given piece of media is, why it was made, and what you want to think about it.

Teaching kids media literacy as a sit-down lesson is not very effective; it's better incorporated into everyday activities . For example:

• With little kids, you can discuss things they're familiar with but may not pay much attention to. Examples include cereal commercials, food wrappers, and toy packages.
• With older kids, you can talk through media they enjoy and interact with. These include such things as YouTube videos , viral memes from the internet, and ads for video games.

Here are the key questions to ask when teaching kids media literacy :

• Who created this? Was it a company? Was it an individual? (If so, who?) Was it a comedian? Was it an artist? Was it an anonymous source? Why do you think that?
• Why did they make it? Was it to inform you of something that happened in the world (for example, a news story)? Was it to change your mind or behavior (an opinion essay or a how-to)? Was it to make you laugh (a funny meme)? Was it to get you to buy something (an ad)? Why do you think that?
• Who is the message for? Is it for kids? Grown-ups? Girls? Boys? People who share a particular interest? Why do you think that?
• What techniques are being used to make this message credible or believable? Does it have statistics from a reputable source? Does it contain quotes from a subject expert? Does it have an authoritative-sounding voice-over? Is there direct evidence of the assertions its making? Why do you think that?
• What details were left out, and why? Is the information balanced with different views -- or does it present only one side? Do you need more information to fully understand the message? Why do you think that?
• How did the message make you feel? Do you think others might feel the same way? Would everyone feel the same, or would certain people disagree with you? Why do you think that?
• As kids become more aware of and exposed to news and current events , you can apply media-literacy steps to radio, TV, and online information.

Common Sense Media offers the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based ratings and reviews. Our timely parenting advice supports families as they navigate the challenges and possibilities of raising kids in the digital age.

Media and Information Literacy

UNESCO supports the development of Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies for all to enable people’s ability to engage critically with information, navigate the online environment safely and responsibly and ensure there can be trust in our information ecosystem and in digital technologies. 

Media and Information Literacy provides a set of essential skills to address the challenges of the 21 st century including the proliferation of mis- and disinformation and hate speech, the decline of trust in media and digital innovations notably Artificial Intelligence.

The Global MIL Week

Commemorated annually, the Global MIL week is a major occasion for worldwide stakeholders to review and celebrate the progress achieved towards Media and Information Literacy for All.

Developing resources to empower citizens

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Advocating for Media and Information Literacy policies and strategies

Mobilizing and connecting media and information literacy communities, promoting innovation and creativity in media and information literacy, facts and figures.

Wide-scale and sustainable Media and Information Literacy training for all is still missing.

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Table of Contents

What is media literacy, what are examples of media literacy, what is information literacy, what are examples of information literacy, the need for media literacy and information literacy in today's world, the importance of media and information literacy, what are the differences between media and information literacy, do you want to build a digital-ready business, what is media and information literacy.

We’re living in the Information Age, a time characterized by an overwhelming amount of content from many different media types, some of them not even having existed at the turn of the 20th century. That's why people today need to increase their media and information literacy.

But what exactly do media literacy and information entail? Are they different from social media literacy or digital media literacy? It appears that this topic can get confusing rather quickly!

That’s why we’re here today. This article explores media and information literacy, giving examples of each form and how they differ, and why they're important and needed.

Let’s begin with media literacy.

As we explore the media literacy meaning, it will sometimes seem that it’s interchangeable with the meaning of information literacy, but they are two different animals. The Aspen Media Literacy Institute came up with this definition in 1992:

“Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.”

The term is typically used when discussing education and raising media-savvy children in the 21st century.

Medialiteracynow.org offers us an expanded definition more appropriate for today’s media-saturated environment. Media literacy is the ability to:

• Decode media messages (including the systems in which they exist).
• Assess the influence of those messages on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Create media thoughtfully and conscientiously.

Additionally, media literacy encompasses ten vital skills:

• Identifying fake news: This skill involves reading past the headlines, checking the author’s credentials and the date of the news, finding corroborating sources, and identifying biases
• Using multiple sources: This skill involves checking other sources for the same news story
• Gauging tone and language: This skill entails developing an ear for credible language
• Questioning numbers and figures: Numbers need to be scrutinized as much as words do. Where did they come from? How did people arrive at the figures?
• Understanding images and their effect on the brain: We are a visually oriented species, and we need to teach people how powerful media images can be
• Cultivating multimedia skills: Media comes in many forms today, and we need to be well-versed in as many of them as possible
• Recognizing bias: This skill includes confirmation bias, which involves only looking at sources that confirm the views you already have
• Shaping media ourselves: This skill covers creating rules of engagement and other standards and enforcing them
• Curating information: So much information, so little time! This skill covers effectively filtering, choosing, organizing, saving, and using information gained from the media
• Becoming responsible media creators: This skill promotes the creation of relevant, accurate information

Put simply, media literacy is the ability for people to evaluate and analyze messages conveyed through today's media critically and how they impact us.

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Here are examples of the kinds of media that people today should cultivate literacy in, to one degree or another:

• Video games
• Photographs
• YouTube videos
• News-related websites
• Social media
• Magazines and newspapers

The American Library Association defines information literacy as “…a set of abilities requiring individuals to 'recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.'"

Information literacy requires that people today develop the following skills:

• Awareness of how to engage with today’s digital world
• Finding meaning in the information you discover
• Articulating the kinds of information you need
• Using information ethically
• Understanding the role we can play in communicating in the context of our professions
• Evaluating information in terms of credibility and authority

Additionally, we can identify five components of information literacy:

• Define: Identify the need, question, or problem
• Find: Locate, access, and retrieve the information from whatever sources are necessary
• Evaluate: Assess the information’s credibility. Is it reliable and relevant to your situation?
• Organize: When we look for information, we are often inundated with material. It needs to be organized and compiled
• Communicate: Communicate your newfound information to the appropriate audience in a clear, ethical, and legal manner

This Venn diagram, courtesy of Madison College Libraries , shows the position of information literacy in relation to other forms of literacy. Note the overlap with media literacy!

Here are some examples of information literacy skills:

• Communication : Receiving and relating different types of information, further divided into:
• Critical Thinking:  Evaluating facts to fully understand an issue, problem, or topic and create an effective solution
• Computer Technology: Using computers/the Internet to find the information and determine its validity
• Research: Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information related to a given topic. This skill is further divided into:
• Attention to detail
• Note-taking
• Problem-solving
• Time management

Look at how life was in the 1920s. Then, people acquired information through just four forms of media: newspapers, magazines, movies, and radio. Perhaps that's what folks mean when they say that life was simpler back in "the old days"!

Push the clock ahead an entire century, and the average person in the 2020s has a dizzying array of media sources. Not only do we still have printed media and radio, but that’s also now supplemented by television, videos, podcasts, blogs, specialized websites, text messages, blogs, vlogs, and the 24-hour news cycle.

Furthermore, for good or bad, technology has advanced to such a point that anyone can create content. All that people need is a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone and some means of recording and presenting their thoughts. Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention to accuracy or ethics. However, thanks to the community-building power of the Internet and social media , like-minded people can now gather and organize into groups. It doesn’t matter if their ideas are grossly misguided or outright wrong; when people collect themselves into an organized unit, it implies that they may have a valid point.

Consequently, today’s technological advances have created an environment where we are inundated on all sides by information, both false and true, 24 hours a day. That’s why we need media and information literacy more than ever today. There’s too much to process today, and we not only have to absorb it all, but we must sift through it all to find what’s true and what’s garbage.

John Adams, the second President of the United States, once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." Put another way, as much as we might want to believe otherwise, we can't change reality.

Unfortunately, too many people out there want to do just that. Whether it’s a political position, a belief in the efficacy of vaccines, the existence of conditions such as global warming, or even the state of reality as we know it, there are people on the fringe who will outright deny facts because that information doesn’t jibe with their opinions. What makes this whole situation more frustrating and scarier is that in many cases, we can prove the validity and accuracy of the information.

But that doesn’t matter to some people, who willfully ignore or rationalize specific facts because they don’t like them. And thanks to the Internet and related media, they have the means of expressing these poisonous ideas to impressionable people, misleading them.

That's why we need to ensure that everyone, especially children, becomes proficient with media and information. For example, how many people have thought that a global pandemic was fake news, then got sick and passed away?

Whether we're talking about people's personal lives or a corporation's marketing strategy, it's crucial to have the skills to navigate through the wealth of information out there. Both media and information literacy are essential for all aspects of life, whether personal or professional.

There is one massive difference between media and information literacy. Information literacy describes identifying a need for information and then locating, evaluating, and using the data effectively to solve a problem. On the other hand, media literacy is the ability to access, evaluate, change, and produce media in many different forms.

Information literacy is more related to library science, while media literacy relates more to media content, industry, and social effects. In addition, information literacy covers where to find and evaluate information and how to use it, while media literacy covers how it works and produces its different forms.

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Media and Information Literacy in the Prescribed Curriculum: A Systematic Review on its Integration

• Open access
• Published: 09 September 2023

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• Ignacio Aguaded   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0229-1118 1 &
• Rosa García-Ruiz   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1445-6968 2  

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The curricular integration of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is crucial for cultivating informed, critical, and engaged citizens in contemporary society. It assists in addressing the challenges of the digital era and capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the ever-changing media landscape. Thus, the present systematic literature review uses the PRISMA guidelines to examine three dimensions in the process of integration of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the prescribed curriculum: formulation, implementation, and evaluation and challenges. Starting with the search criteria, 131 studies were found in the Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Dialnet and Google Scholar databases, published between January, 2013, and March, 2023, written in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish. The findings suggest that the will of the political sphere and the activism of the triad composed by passionate teachers, civil society, and academia, are key factors for promoting the introduction of MIL in formal education. Likewise, it is underlined that the evaluation of this education policy requires special attention, in order to guarantee the analysis of its reach, effectiveness, and capacity to adapt against the challenges that emerge in the media ecosystem. Thus, the intention is to provide up-to-date information for the creation of policies, research studies, and curricular content on this subject.

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1 Introduction 

Being a competent citizen on matters of media and information requires more than just learning to operate an array of devices and programs. This educational endeavor needs to accept that our students and professors live in a world that is increasingly mediatized and uncertain, which demands the renovation of the strategies necessary to subsist within it (Sivrić, 2022 ). Media and information literacy (MIL), defined as a series of survival tactics, conceives the imperative development of protection, evaluation, and participation skills to face the challenges and phenomena that emerge from this new media ecosystem (García-Ruiz, 2014 ). However, many of these tactics are not translated into education systems, despite the fact that one of the factors that promotes curricular change is the obligation to satisfy the needs of those who are to be educated. For fundamental elements such as media and creativity to become important in the prescribed curricula, the effective coordination between research, politics, and practice is indispensable (Henriksen et al., 2016 ).

Nevertheless, some states and experts act by following a narrow view that prioritizes technology in search of progress and modernity, at the same time that it ignores the analysis of the media culture of the learners (Mateus et al., 2019 ), and the dual role played by content consumers and producers in digital environments. In this context, it is important to create a social and political consensus that allows the re-assessment of MIL as an indispensable right for civic practice (Francisco-Amat et al., 2022 ). In this way, the introduction of MIL in formal education is an opportunity for cultivating the critical sense against the contents, the functions and structure of media –traditional and emerging-, and for promoting creativity with respect to the possibilities of self-expression and self-representation they offer for (future) citizens (Bozdağ et al., 2022 ). More specifically, this task requires making advances in the creation of policies that guarantee their presence in formal education contexts, promote research, and teacher training in this area, as well as the dialogue among professionals of the education-communication interface, with other key entities (De-Pablos-Pons & Ballesta-Pagán, 2018 ) . Thus, the purpose of the present work is to examine the process of integration of MIL in the prescribed curriculum, to obtain a general overview about the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of this education policy.

2 Previous studies

The historical description by Fedorov ( 2014 ) indicates that the state of media education is contingent upon the historical and sociocultural conditions of each nation. In their work “Curricula for Media Literacy Education According to International Experts”, Fedorov et al. ( 2016 ) identified diverse obstacles that make their implementation difficult, among which we find the resistance from public administrations, the overload in the study plans, and the lack of teacher training. On the other hand, László Hartai ( 2013 ), in his dissertation entitled “Media education in formal education”, examines the findings from the project European Media Literacy Education Study (EMEDUS) to determine how the teaching of media in national curricula from the European Union member states was addressed. In this context, the author points the existence of a trend in which MIL is incorporated as a tool for the education of responsible, critical, and creative citizens.

The systematic review conducted by Zhang et al. ( 2020 ) analyzes the objectives, types of integration, and ways to assess MIL in the curricula of nine European countries and China, through the evaluation of 98 articles published between 1990 and 2011. The authors pointed out some discrepancies between the legislative definitions formulated for this type of education, and underlined that the cross-cutting approach was the predominant model of integration in these countries. As for Latin America, the most current systematic review shows that specific MIL courses do not exist in that region. However, it is revealed that the detection of dimensions of media competence in the curriculum texts is one of the objects of study that prevails in scientific production (Rojas-Estrada et al., 2023a ).

On the other hand, the report by Kajimoto et al. ( 2020 ) on MIL policies and practices in the Asian context, indicates that the media panorama, the infrastructure, and the legal frameworks related to media, have an effect in the manner in which it is discussed, integrated, and taught. Another substantial report on the subject, the one by Cunliffe-Jones et al. ( 2021 ) analyzes the curricula from seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the skills necessary to deal with information disorder. Among the findings, it was underlined that despite the worry expressed by the political sphere related with “fake news” and their effects on society, the principles of media education were hardly observed in the curriculum texts. Based on the studies described, there is evidence that there is an increasing interest on the integration of MIL in formal education. However, there is a need for the precise systematic description of the processes that have been implemented for their inclusion in the prescribed curricula, which summarizes the objectives and aspirations of the education system, so that the actors responsible for this endeavor have up-to-date information.

3 Methodology

To examine the process of MIL integration into the prescribed curriculum, a systematic literature review was performed, a method that allows identifying, analyzing, and interpreting scientific production in a specific field determined by systematic processes (García-Peñalvo, 2022 ). The protocol utilized followed the PRISMA declaration guidelines 2020 (Page et al., 2021 ) and was divided into five phases: “research questions, eligibility criteria and sources of information, search strategy, study selection process, and coding and data synthesis” (Valverde-Berrocoso et al., 2022 , p. 100–101). To guarantee transparency and access, the review and analysis protocol were registered at Figshare (Rojas-Estrada et al.,  2023b ).

3.1 Research questions

The six research questions (Table 1 ) that guided this review were divided into three dimensions: (1) Formulation, it analyzes the origin of the proposal, the interest groups involved in the process of integration, and their actions, (2) Implementation, it determines the modalities and resources created for its execution in school centers, and (3) Evaluation and challenges, it detects the processes of evaluation on the implementation of MIL, as well as the challenges around key actors, the integration process, the content, the approach, and other factors.

3.2 Search strategy, eligibility criteria and sources of information

Appendix A shows a general overview of the search process (date, string, and domains selected) conducted in the search engine Google Scholar and four databases: Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, acknowledged for indexing publications of high-quality and impact; ERIC (ProQuest), a specialized reference source in the educational field; and Dialnet (Plus), renowned for its extensive collection of studies published in the Ibero-American context. The search was executed using a scheme of two sets of terms with Boolean operators: «Media literacy» OR «Media Education» OR «Media Competence» OR «Media and Information literacy» OR Educommunication AND «Curriculum».

The inclusion criteria for the present review were the following: (1) theoretical or empirical articles, books, book chapters and meeting proceedings in which the descriptors defined are found in the title, abstract, or keywords; (2) which address the integration of MIL in the prescribed curricula in any country; and (3) published between January, 2013, and March, 2023, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Turkish. The objective of this selection is to broaden the geographical coverage of the research, enabling the inclusion of studies that explore the Turkish experience, and those from Ibero-America, a region distinguished by its deeply rooted tradition in the field of media education (De-Oliveira-Soares, 2019 ). Notably, these regions have not been addressed in previous reviews. Through this strategic integration, it is intended to explore the possibilities and challenges enabled by implementing this policy across distinct political, cultural, and educational contexts.

On the other hand, the articles excluded (Table 2 ) were related with studies on: (1) specific subjects, such as the curricular integration of digital literacy or digital knowledge (exclusion by subject), (2) the design or evaluation of curricular proposals that integrate MIL (exclusion by type of curriculum), and (3) the embedding of MIL in the curriculum in higher education, teacher training, or adult education (exclusion by level).

3.3 Study selection process coding and data synthesis

Figure  1 shows the initial literature search, which identified 2896 studies. After the elimination of 406 duplicates, the remaining studies were examined in two stages: (1) the first stage was comprised by a systematic reading of the titles and abstracts of 2490 publications, which resulted in the exclusion of 2305 records, and (2) the second stage consisted on the complete reading of 156 manuscripts, which resulted in the exclusion, by consensus, of 34 records. Posteriorly, the application of the snowball method of the citations from the studies identified in the databases allowed the shaping of the final sample ( n  = 131). Lastly, the chosen texts were exported from EndNote to a spreadsheet, and an analysis worksheet was created that included seven categories (Appendix B) for the collection of data.

Source : Developed by the authors

Flow diagram of the search process with the PRISMA protocol. 

4.1 Where did the proposal to integrate MIL into the prescribed curriculum emerge?

After the analysis of the MIL integration process in the prescribed curriculum, it was observed that these processes were subject to a series of interrelated economic, political, and cultural conditions. Nevertheless, four key aspects were found, related with the origin of the diverse proposals studied:

1. The lobbying by civil organizations, “passionate teachers” or scholars. Most of the studies ( n  = 101) pointed to the transcendental role of the professors-civil society-academic community triad for forming lobby groups able to have an influence on decision makers through the prudent exercise of activism and the identification, with scientific foundations, of the media challenges within the frame of education. The groups directed by ecclesiastical representatives, educators, experts in media education, and community leaders, represent the first attempts to establish MIL as a curricular activity in the United States of America (Prykhodkina, 2020 ), Australia (Dezuanni, 2019 ), Czech Republic (Junová, 2016 ; Römer, 2021 ), France (Jehel, 2019 ), Israel (Turin & Friedman, 2019 ), Hungary (Neag, 2016 ), South Korea (Yoon et al., 2019 ), United Kingdom (Buckingham, 2015 ), India (Jayachandran, 2018 ), Poland (Ptaszek & Lysik, 2019 ), Ireland (O’Neill, 2019 ); Croatia (Kanižaj, 2019 ), and Canada (Hoechsmann & Wilson, 2019 ). Also, the review showed that these types of groups worked as a “lever” to generate political will, open spaces for dialogue, and place the need to embed MIL in the education system into the public agenda.

2. The political will to create spaces of dialogue and/or specialized organizations. Almost three quarters of the sample ( n  = 87) placed the arrival of new public administrations as strategic moments for mobilizing or guaranteeing the presence of MIL in curriculum texts. In this context, the studies pointed to the importance of spaces for dialogue that seek to coordinate efforts between the political sphere and other interest groups to formulate public policies in matters of media and information (e.g., Hipfl, 2019 ; Karaduman, 2013 ; Ptaszek & Lysik, 2019 ; Silajdžić et al., 2022 ; Supa et al., 2021 ). More specifically, many Turkish authors (Asrak-Hasdemir, 2016 ; Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ; Kazan & Balkin, 2018 ; Untila-Kaplan, 2019 ) pointed out, as the starting point of the process of integration, the organization of an event by the Radio and Television Supreme Council [Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu- RTÜK) to debate basic matters of press, radio, television, and internet. In light of this space, and the activism of scholars, the RTÜK became the main promoter of media education under a process (Table 3 ) that included the signing of a cooperation protocol with the Ministry of Education [Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı- MEB] in 2006 (Untila-Kaplan, 2019 ).

In addition, the authors underlined the importance of establishing public entities, departments, or organizations that include the active promotion of MIL within their functions, such as the cases of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in the United Kingdom (Buckingham, 2015 ); the Municipal Secretariats in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, with their projects Media Education and Educommunication, respectively (De-Oliveira-Soares, 2018 ); or the National Radio Broadcasting Council [Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji–KRRiT] in Poland, in charge of organizing campaigns and courses on MIL for different audiences (Brosch, 2017 ).

3. The adoption of legal materials, recommendations and instruments from the European Union. More than half of the studies ( n  = 79) recognized the impact of the European Union (EU) in the development of integration processes. Specifically, Slovakia (Šupšáková, 2016 ), Poland (Ptaszek & Lysik, 2019 ), Hungary (Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ), the Czech Republic (Jirák & Zezulkova, 2019 ), Finland (Palsa & Salomaa, 2020 ), Türkiye (Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ), Georgia (Levitskaya & Seliverstova, 2020 ), Montenegro (Ružić, 2016 ), Ireland (O’Neill, 2019 ), and Ukraine (Lokshyna & Prykhodkina, 2020 ) coincided in that the political instruments emitted by the EU for its members and candidate countries persuaded the public policy makers with respect of the curricular inclusion of media education. Among them, they particularly recognized the following:

Recommendation 2006/962/EC which focuses on key competences for lifelong learning.

The document entitled “A European approach to media literacy in the digital environment”.

Directive 2007/65/CE, which recognizes the MIL educational activities conducted by member states.

The Bologna European Process that prompted the adaptations of education systems to European education standards.

Along the same line, Spain, which has recently incorporated MIL in the primary education, secondary education, and baccalaureate curriculum (i.e., Royal Decree 217/2022, Royal Decree 157/2022, Royal Decree 243/2022) and within the framework of reference of teacher’s competence in digital matters (i.e., Resolution from May 4th, 2020), has also demonstrated the influence of this organization (Ramírez-García et al., 2014c ).

4. The execution of large scale projects promoted and/or financed by foreign entities. This category implies a reduced number of studies ( n  = 39) that recognize the support from international entities for consolidating projects that include in their objectives the development of critical skills associated with communication media. Table 4 specifically shows the process of integration of three countries that reflect the extent of this synergy: (1) Montenegro, which obtained funding from the Foundation Open Society Institute (Perović, 2015 ), (2) Ukraine, whose model of integration was designed within the framework of the Learn and Distinguish initiative promoted by the International Research Exchanges Board (IREX), in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Science (Lokshyna & Prykhodkina, 2020 ), and (3) Georgia, which envisages the support from the Microsoft corporation to improve the technological infrastructure in classrooms within the curricular reform framework from the “New School Model” (Levitskaya & Seliverstova, 2020 ).

Lastly, the countries that did not include a specific course or that do not explicitly mention MIL in their study plans showed two key aspects that represent opportunities for its integration:

The influence of principles and materials created by the UNESCO, found in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Silajdžić et al., 2022 ), different Latin American (Saez, 2019 ), and Asian (Lin et al., 2013 ) countries, and Francophone countries from Western Africa such as Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast (Corroy & Apo, 2019 ).

The identification of public policies on media and information matters that allow working on projects and initiatives with respect to operational, social, and critical skills that define media competence, such as the case in Argentina with the section “Education, New technologies, and Media” of the National Education Law, which points out the importance of providing new education strategies based on the use of different media (Saez, 2019 ); Ecuador, with article 74 about common responsibilities in Organic Law on Communication, which dictates the promotion of educommunication (Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ); Portugal, with the publication of a new national policy on digital citizenship that includes MIL as an essential element (Tomé & De-Abreu, 2019 ); or the Republic of Cyprus, with article 18D from the Law on the Corporation of Radio Broadcasting that allows the Radio and Television Authority to implement education programs to improve the levels of MIL (Themistokleous, 2023 ).

4.2 Who are the actors involved in the curricular integration of MIL and through what actions?

As for the key actors, we refer to political, social, and civil entities that perform individual or coordinated actions, to integrate MIL into curriculum texts. The following were identified after the analysis:

1. Political actors. In first place, we find the council and bodies associated with communications, which include, among their functions, the active promotion of MIL and the coordination of work with other state entities in this area. The predominant actions identified in the group of interest were: to promote campaigns whose objective is to increase MIL in the population; to provide didactic and digital materials to educators; to provide support to activities promoted by other groups; and to prepare the training of teachers in this area (Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ; Jirák & Zezulkova, 2019 ; Neag & Koltay, 2019 ; O’Neill, 2019 ; Themistokleous, 2023 ).

In second place, we find that the ministries of education in countries such as Iran (Azizi et al., 2021 ), the Czech Republic (Jirák & Zezulkova, 2019 ) and the Philippines (Labangon & Zabala, 2018 ) are the main custodians of MIL; while in others, they are in charge of coordinating efforts with other key actors with respect to the distribution of didactic material and training of teachers in this field (Cicha et al., 2021 ; Hipfl, 2019 ). Likewise, we find political entities such as the European Commission and specialized organizations such as the UNESCO, which promote initiatives and provide documentation related to the curricular integration of MIL (Bautista, 2021 ; Perović, 2015 ; Römer, 2021 ). Lastly, in Singapore, which has a recent history with MIL, we find the creation of a Media Literacy Council, composed by representatives of different interest groups (experts, educators, civil servants, etc.), dedicated to promoting MIL and the cybernetic well-being of citizens (Weninger, 2017 ).

2. Passionate teachers. Many authors (Jehel, 2019 ; Kanižaj, 2019 ; Ptaszek & Lysik, 2019 ; Tsvietkova et al., 2020 ; Turin & Friedman, 2019 ) consider that the role of “passionate professors” in the process of curricular integration of MIL must be seen as an example of social activism, given that without teacher’s training, didactic materials, or governmental support, they have fought to introduce media into the curriculum, and inspired school communities. In this sense, David Buckingham defends their actions, when he states that “media educators have always had to fight to establish what today is still being seen as a dangerously new field” (Buckingham, 2015 , p. 83).

3. Academia and experts in media education. Other social actors identified include faculties and research centers that have been created specifically for this field, which, aside from promoting the introduction of MIL in schools, made sure to provide methodological support, research techniques, and advice to other key authors (Chen et al., 2018 ; Cheung & Xu, 2016 ; Kanižaj, 2019 ; Vrabec, 2016 ). Likewise, in this category, we find the contributions of media education experts, such as Làszlo Hartai, who led the movement that achieved the integration of this class subject in Hungary (Neag, 2015 ), and professor Jan Jirák, who along with his colleagues, organized a series of meetings to encourage the public administration to play a coordinated role in favor of MIL (Römer, 2021 ; Sloboda, 2018 ; Supa et al., 2021 ).

4. Civil society. The projects, events, and courses promoted by this link for education models, compensate for the slow process of curricular updates that allow the introduction of MIL, and the lack of teacher training on this subject (Neag & Koltay, 2019 ; O’Neill, 2019 ; Rek, 2019 ). Also, they contribute with the creation of didactic materials, awareness campaigns directed to the general population, public policy projects, and curricular proposals that integrate the use and analysis of media (Levitskaya & Seliverstova, 2020 ), as well as the funding of educommunication projects (Ružić, 2016 ).

5. The media industry. We also found that media and advertising companies joined together to advocate for MIL through campaigns, projects, and online courses that sought to mostly: i) foster internet security and the understanding of specific phenomena (disinformation, internet bullying, digital fraud, etc.), such as SingTel in Singapore (Sze & Sun, 2019 ); and ii) promote the critical analysis of media objects (Jehel, 2019 ; Voráč & Kopecký, 2021 ).

4.3 Under what modality has MIL been integrated in the prescribed curriculum?

After the analysis of the literature, five modalities of curricular integration of MIL were found, as shown in Fig.  2 . This figure provides a general overview of the different modalities according to country, to improve its visualization. The note under the figures provides a link that can be used to access additional information.

Source : Developed by the authors. To improve the visualization and to consult the interactive elements of the map that include additional information of each modality (name of the courses and school grades in which it is implemented), please click the following link: http://bitly.ws/E6D4

Map of the MIL curricular integration modalities.

1. Cross-cutting component. The experience of the Czech Republic (Jirák & Zezulkova, 2019 ), Slovakia (Kačinová, 2018 ), Georgia (Levitskaya & Seliverstova, 2020) , Ireland (O’Neill, 2019 ), Austria (Hörmann et al., 2023 ) and Ukraine (Kosheliuk et al., 2021 ) shows that MIL under this modality can be taught as: (1) a project (management of a school radio or newspaper), (2) a seminar or related academic activity, (3) a set of themes that are addressed in different school subjects, and (4) a combination of the previous options. For Jirák and Zezulkova ( 2019 ) the strength of this model is the fact that educators are able to flexibly react to the challenges of the media ecosystem. While the study by Cheung and Xu ( 2016 ) highlights the importance of clearly communicating the objectives in the courses into which it is embedded, as well as in the MIL course, to help educators understand that it is no simply a combination of two domains of knowledge. However, Hipfl ( 2019 ) warns that its implementation as a school project can result in the mistake of only teaching students how to create media objects, but not how to examine them critically.

On the other hand, it was identified that the curricular texts from Ontario (Ryan, 2020 ) and Finland (Kupiainen, 2019 ) planned the cross-cutting integration of MIL under umbrella term multiliteracy, a movement that conceives a greater closeness to the communication realities experienced by students, to give way to practices in agreement with the technological and diverse societies in which they live.

2. Optional class. According to the data collected, this modality is presently found in secondary education and/or middle school education in nine countries: Türkiye, Montenegro, Philippines, Israel, Hungary, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Iran, and Slovenia. Despite this proposal making it possible for students to identify and name MIL as a key concept (Mohebzadeh et al., 2020 ), its implementation comes with a series of challenges, as its independent status results in the students not being able to understand its connection and integration with other courses, while its optional character shortens its reach, as it is possible to traverse the system of formal education without having taken the course (Asrak-Hasdemir, 2016 ; Karaduman, 2013 ; Ružić, 2016 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ). In a more specific manner, it was detected that in Hungary and Israel, MIL was also embedded as a cross-cutting component in primary education and the first years of secondary education (Neag & Koltay, 2019 ; Turin & Friedman, 2019 ). The challenge of this proposal, according to Neag ( 2015 ), is the loss of continuity in teaching, which leads to the transit from a cross-cutting approach, to an optional class.

3. Associated with a specific course. Delving into this modality, the integration of MIL principles into the content of specific subjects were revealed in four countries: Croatia (Kanižaj, 2019 ) and South Korea (Yoon et al., 2019 ) have associated it with the mother tongue; Singapore (Weninger, 2017 ) to the introduction of the English course; while Australia maintains its paradigmatic proposal of “media arts” (Dezuanni, 2019 ). Based on the experience in Singapore, Lin et al. ( 2013 ) warns that under this type of integration, there is risk that learners will not be aware that they are being taught to become media literate.

4. Each state or region works on MIL. In Canada, the United States of America (Hobbs et al., 2022 ; Mohebzadeh et al., 2020 ), Germany (Schulenkorf et al., 2021 ) and India (Jayachandran, 2018 ), each of the states and regions that compose them differentially define and include MIL in the curriculum. Nevertheless, the creation of documents that seek to provide consistency to education standards at the national level is observed, which maintain connections with the MIL principles and objectives, such as the “National Common Core Standard Curriculum” in the United States (Ey, 2017 ; Hoffman, 2014 ), or the Federal Standards for Digital Education developed by the “German Conference on Education Ministries and Cultural Affairs” (Schulenkorf et al., 2021 ). For Schleicher and Rétfalvi ( 2015 ) this situation makes it possible for the content to be diversified, and for the possibilities to increase in the education terrain for media.

5. Principles or dimensions present in MIL in the curriculum, but without explicitly mentioning the concept. A third of the studies ( n  = 43) had the objective of determining the presence of MIL in curricular texts through the detection of its dimensions, principles, or objectives. After analyzing these studies, conducted in 26 countries, it was observed that media competence was mostly associated with the contents in the following curricular areas:

Language: strengthening communication skills and the ability to effectively read and write (Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ; Corroy & Apo, 2019 ; Lew-Starowicz, 2019 ; Pérez-Rodríguez & Sandoval-Romero, 2013 ; Portugal & Aguaded, 2019 ); Critical analysis of the information that is transmitted through the media, considering both the degree of reliability, and the interests and values implicit to them (Pérez-Rodríguez & Sandoval-Romero, 2013 ); ability to express messages through the use of different languages and digital formats (Anderson & Helmane, 2019 ; García-Leguizamón, 2018 ); and the analysis of audiovisual reproductions to recognize the cultural diversity present in societies as a valuable resource (Caldeiro-Pedreira, 2013 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2014c ).

Technology: resolution of problems through the efficient use of technology (Anderson & Helmane, 2019 ; De-Oliveira-Soares, 2018 ; Lew-Starowicz, 2019 ; Neag, 2015 ; Pérez-Ortega, 2016 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2014a ) ; y el and the responsible use of media to interact with information and other social groups (Corroy & Apo, 2019 ; Mateus & Suárez-Guerrero, 2017 ).

Citizenship and ethics: reflect on the value of media within freedom of expression, democratic processes, and the active and responsible exercise of citizen participation (Anderson & Helmane, 2019 ; Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ; Cheung, 2015 ; Corroy & Apo, 2019 ; De-Oliveira-Soares, 2018 ; Lew-Starowicz, 2019 ; Medina-Vidal et al., 2017 ; Polizzi, 2020 ; Saez, 2019 ; Tomé & De-Abreu, 2019 ).

Foreign language: promotion of communication aptitudes and sociolinguistic ability (Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2016 ).

Art: use of media as tools for critically transmitting one’s own culture, ideas, histories, and emotions (Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ; Medina-Vidal et al., 2017 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2016 ).

Physical education: critical evaluation of the impact of media and social networks on the perception of one’s body and personal identity, as well as the analysis of the particular effects such as sedentarism, stress, addiction to technologies, etc. (Cheung, 2015 ; Saez, 2019 ); and the promotion of an attitude of rejection towards unsportsmanlike gestures, signs, and symbols disseminated by the media (Ramírez-García et al., 2014c ).

Natural sciences: associating the content of the course with journalistic information about science and health subjects (Anderson & Helmane, 2019 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2014a ; Saez, 2019 ).

Mathematics: use of technological tools for the execution and verification of mathematical calculations, as well as reading, interpretation and critical analysis of figures and diagrams obtained from media objects (Andrade-Vargas et al., 2019 ; De-Oliveira-Soares, 2018 ; Ramírez-García et al., 2014b ).

4.4 What resources have been created for its implementation?

The integration of MIL in countries with optional classes tend to be accompanied by textbooks to direct its execution within the classroom (i.e., Israel, the Czech Republic, Türkiye). Likewise, the creation of websites by governmental agencies was observed, to provide information on activities, events, documents related with MIL, and to create awareness of its importance, such as the website “Medya Okuryazarlığı” ( medyaokuryazarligi.gov.tr ) hosted by RTUK in Türkiye (Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ), or “Mediamanual” ( mediamanual.at ) created by the Federal Ministry of Education in Austria (Hipfl, 2019 ). In other countries, due to the lack of didactic materials, teachers have created Facebook groups to share strategies, documents, and good practices related with media and information (Bautista, 2021 ; Vrabec, 2016 ). The use of foreign materials is also interesting, such as the “MediaLit Kit” from the Center for Media Literacy used in Montenegro (Perović, 2015 ), or the Finnish book “Hello Ruby” which is part of the resources in the model from Georgia (Levitskaya & Seliverstova, 2020 ).

4.5 What systems of evaluation were extracted from the literature with respect to the process of curricular integration of MIL?

Despite the recommendations by Celot and Pérez-Tornero ( 2009 ) who suggested the constant evaluation of how MIL is taught, and its impact, the articles reviewed described the persistence of a lack of systems of evaluation and/or collection of proof. Thus, there is a lack of assurance and knowledge on the quality, strengths, weaknesses, and reach of MIL in the countries in which it has been integrated (Beseda et al., 2016 ; Jirák & Zezulkova, 2019 ; Kanižaj, 2019 ; Radunović, 2014 ; Turin & Friedman, 2019 ). Therefore, given the lack of agencies responsible for this task, the state of media education is explored and studied by other key actors, such as civil society and academia (Voráč & Kopecký, 2021 ). Nevertheless, Jirák and Zezulkova ( 2019 ) consider that it is difficult to know the impact of these studies on the political sphere to improve the implementation of MIL.

4.6 What challenges were detected in the literature with respect to the curricular integration of MIL?

The challenges identified in the processes of integration were divided into five categories and describe a number of aspects that must be considered during the formulation of proposals for the curricular integration of MIL.

1. Integration into the education system. The analysis indicates that one of the challenges in the formulation of the proposal is to determine the modality of integration, the stage of education, type of school, and evaluation indicators. According to Borbás et al. ( 2016 ), media education must be taught continuously in the different stages of education. If the intention is to promote MIL in the upper levels of secondary education, or in baccalaureate studies, we must deal with the fact that students have already developed their own practices and perspectives with respect to the consumption and use of media. Also, the literature indicates that in the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Slovenia, MIL is not offered in technical or vocational schools, which contradicts the perspective that defines MIL as a fundamental right for every citizen (Rek, 2019 ). As for its evaluation, the experience in Türkiye and Hungary indicates that there are no specific evaluation mechanisms for this type of competence, which can decrease the student’s interest (Karaduman, 2013 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ). Other challenges identified in this category include:

The ambiguity about the MIL concept has resulted in an erroneous conception of its objectives and reach (Azizi et al., 2021 ; Brosch, 2017 ; Neag, 2015 ), which has led to educators seeking to develop the communication strategies of the learners through the improvement of their body language of mimicry (Avci, 2015 ), or students choosing this class subject thinking that it is focused on journalism or advertising (Perović, 2015 ).

The technological infrastructure and materials for executing the classes are limited to the conditions found in schools (Azizi et al., 2021 ; Junová, 2016 ; Perović, 2015 ; Saei et al., 2021 ).

The techno-determinist view has led many politicians and experts to sustain the myth that the “digital citizens” need more equipment, rather than critical education (Supa et al., 2021 ). This perspective results in MIL being subsumed under digital literacy, which leads to the prioritization of the teaching of how to use devices, and considering the media as simple didactic support (Bautista, 2021 ; Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ; Hoechsmann & Wilson, 2019 ; Jehel, 2019 ; Mathew, 2018 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ; Tibaldo, 2022 ).

2. Educators. For Perović ( 2015 ) it is crucial to understand that a positive change in education systems require educommunicators to become agents of change of the education system, and for this to take place, they need quality training and to be more critical. In this sense, the following challenges are detected:

The lack of teacher training promotes improvisation and impedes the curricular materialization of MIL (Azizi et al., 2021 ; Bautista, 2021 ; Junová, 2016 ; Karaduman, 2013 ; Mathew, 2018 ; Neag, 2015 ; Ružić, 2016 ; Schulenkorf et al., 2021 ; Sloboda, 2018 ).

The slow progress of universities for the incorporation of programs on the media/education interface, in higher and graduate education (Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ; Hipfl, 2019 ; Kazan & Balkin, 2018 ). In this sense, the literature centered on the China context reveals that the limited implementation of university programs focused on media education, and the lack of specialized professors, have contributed towards the low popularity of this type of education in lower levels of education (Cheung, 2015 ; Cheung & Xu, 2016 ; Han, 2022 ).

The lack of collaboration networks between professors and schools to exchange ideas, good practices, and collaboration among peers (Perović, 2015 ; Römer, 2021 ; Ružić, 2016 ).

3. Approach and content. In this category, we identified that the protectionist approach around media has extended to official documents and the public discourse, through the arguments that have been created about their harmful effects on the younger population (Avci, 2015 ; Cakmak & Tuzel, 2015 ; Mohebzadeh et al., 2020 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ). On the other hand, the rigidity of the curriculum and the traditional rationale of the education systems impede updating of contents in line with the changes raised in the media ecosystem (Beseda et al., 2016 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ; Sezgin, 2015 ; Neag & Koltay, 2019 ; Untila-Kaplan, 2019 ; Weninger, 2017 ). In this sense, the media education that is provided can become obsolete very rapidly, so that another challenge is the lack of relevant content that provides an answer to the communication realities experienced by students (Çarkıt, 2019 ; Perović, 2015 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ), as well as the social discrimination of gender in digital territories (Friedman et al., 2021 ; Karaduman, 2013 ).

4. Key actors. Within this category, we find the lack of coordination between the education system and the activities of the State, the media industry, and civil sectors, to promote MIL, which is due to the low funding available and the low visibility of MIL (Kanižaj, 2019 ; Labaš & Marinčić, 2017 ; Schleicher & Rétfalvi, 2015 ; Šupšáková, 2016 ). Likewise, a low interest was observed of parents to improve this competence, which restricts their participation in crucial activities (Han, 2022 ; Kanižaj, 2019 ). These situations are specially relevant, given that, as pointed out by Hobbs et al. ( 2022 ), to achieve the effective curricular integration of MIL, it is essential to understand the school environment as a “complex adaptive system” that requires the early, systematic, and continuous commitment of all the interest groups in order to persist.

Another challenge detected was the “period of regression”, in which the public sphere repeals the public policies on MIL. Despite the long tradition in this area, and the important theoretical leaders such Len Mastermann, the decision of British policymakers, and the new coalition that came to power in 2010, was to “discard” MIL (Wallis & Buckingham, 2021 ). This situation, largely illustrated in many studies (e.g., Lin et al., 2013 ; Ptaszek & Lysik, 2019 ) proposes the arrival of administrations that seek to “go back to basics” and to focus their attention on subjects such as literature and mathematics. Therein the importance of considering the political context in which these policies and the power dynamics are executed, and which have an influence on its construction.

5. External factors. The media system is one of the substantial areas regulated by laws that have an impact on media education, so it is important to address aspects such as the freedom of expression and the diversity of media. The experiences in Singapore (Weninger, 2017 ), and Hungary (Neag, 2015 ) describe the challenges of integrating MIL in public education under a context of strict media control, which could impinge the teaching of creative manners of expression.

5 Conclusions

Although the incorporation of MIL in formal education is influenced by multiple interrelated political, economic, historical, and cultural factors (Fedorov, 2014 ; Kajimoto et al., 2020 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ), it is necessary to underline the importance of generating dialogue between the political sphere and other groups of interest as the starting point. Under this collaborative view, the analysis suggests that the conversation between both poles must propitiate: (1) the recognition of the flaws in the legislative work in this area, (2) the creation or activation of state agencies dedicated to promoting teaching of media education as a fundamental right, and (3) the detailed establishment of the process for its implementation in formal and informal contexts.

Another important observation from the present review is the activist actions performed by the triad composed by passionate professors, civil society, and academia, to integrate MIL into the curriculum. In this sense, the construction and edification of education policies seems to be an endeavor of education authorities, but in terms of media and information, this task tends to be promoted by social movements that include the intromission of media education experts into the public sphere, the methodological and research support by academia, and the projects formulated by civil society. Therefore, the formulation of policies and curricular proposals in this field demands a participative approach, in order to favor legitimacy in the making of decisions and to ensure long-term continuity.

Likewise, the analysis highlights that most of the countries examined did not follow a conventional modality, with respect to the inclusion of MIL in the curriculum. However, two types of integration were identified that differed from those presented above (e.g., Kajimoto et al., 2020 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ): (1) each state or region works on MIL, and (2) the presence of MIL principles and dimensions without explicitly mentioning the concept. Both proposals provide evidence that public policy makers recognize the importance of incorporating media and information in study plans. Nevertheless, the nature of the education system, and the lack of a legislative definition, are factors that influence their adoption. Also, it is important to highlight the initiative of researchers to identify the presence of media competence in curriculum texts. This allows obtaining a diagnostic of its current state, defining media education as a “pending subject”, and bringing possible applications in the classroom, in countries in which it is not explicitly included.

On the other hand, the evaluation of this education policy requires greater attention, as this missing factor could result in the lack of information about the quality, reach, strengths, and weaknesses of MIL in education systems into which it is integrated, as well as its capacity to adapt to new technologies and trends in the field of communication media. Despite civil society and academic taking on an active role in the exploration and analysis of its state, an entity must exist that becomes responsible for this endeavor, as suggested in the work by Hartai ( 2013 ). Also, the analysis of challenges let us glimpse that simply being aware of the importance of media education is not enough, as it is also crucial to establish the conditions necessary for its implementation at the level of teacher training, infrastructure, materials, and legislation. On the contrary, the specific actions taken to address these challenges, with respect to media and technology, will be reduced to simple expressions of concern, which will result in a growing divide between the curriculum used to educate (future) citizens, and the world in which they must navigate.

Although the study was able to examine the origin, modalities, key actors, and challenges associated to the integration processes, there are still aspects that cannot be explained by any of the categories we coded. In this case, future reviews could broaden the reach of research studies with respect to regulatory aspects of these types of policies, the qualifications of educators who teach class under the optional class modality, the object of study of research conducted in parallel to the process of integration, and the evaluation procedure. The decision of only including studies written in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish, could have been as a limitation of the study, when considering the experiences in countries where another language is spoken.

Data availability

The dataset generated during the current study is available in Figshare Repository. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23614791 .

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Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA. This work is conducted within the support of the Agora Research Group (HUM-648) at University of Huelva, the Euro-American Inter-university Research Network on Media Literacy for Citizenship (Red Alfamed) and the R + D Project “Alfabetización mediática y digital en jóvenes y adolescentes: Diagnóstico y estrategias de innovación educativa para prevenir riesgos y fomentar buenas prácticas en la Red”, financed by the Consejería de Universidades, Igualdad, Cultura y Deporte of Gobierno de Cantabria. E. G. Rojas-Estrada (CVU 1229049) is thankful to CONACyT (Mexico) for the scholarship granted under the “Doctorados en Ciencias y Humanidades en el Extranjero 2022” call.

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Elizabeth-Guadalupe Rojas-Estrada: Conceptualization; Literature search and Data analysis; Writing-original draft; Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Rosa García-Ruiz: Literature search and Data analysis; Writing-Reviewing and Editing; Supervision. Ignacio Aguaded: Data analysis; Supervision, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. All the authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Rojas-Estrada, EG., Aguaded, I. & García-Ruiz, R. Media and Information Literacy in the Prescribed Curriculum: A Systematic Review on its Integration. Educ Inf Technol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12154-0

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Received : 02 July 2023

Accepted : 15 August 2023

Published : 09 September 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12154-0

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