Media education in Leisure Education: Social Networking Sites as a Challenge for Educators

The master thesis deals with educational approaches and attitudes to social networking sites in leisure education in Czech Budweis. The theoretical background describes current social networking sites and benefits for their users. Next there are descriptions of puberty years, of leisure time as a time when social networking sites are used the most and of leisure education. The thesis includes comparison of Czech and Dutch approaches to media education in their educational systems. The research part includes opinions of leaders working in leisure education in Czech Budweis about an educational influencing of using of social networking sites and their experiences. Into research were joined 9 schools and school institutions for leisure education from Czech Budweis. The first part of the respondents do not devote to education of using of social networking sites. The second half of the respondents is trying to educate children to be conscious about risks, to understand to rules of social networking sites. Leaders talk with the children about a content which the children see on their accounts. But the leader´s influence causes just that the children know theoretical informations. So it is important to find a way how to teach children in a way that leader´s educational approaches make them behave differently and make them know about other possibilities of using social networking sites