Upper seconadary student's news consumption, their motivation to consume news and how schools can contribute to increase student's news consumption

One of the foundations of a democratic society is that citizens need to be enlightened and understand what happens in their surroundings so that they can make legitimate decisions. A way to gain enlightenment and understanding is to consume credible news through different types of media. This study aims to better understand upper secondary students’ news consumption, investigate what motivates them to consume news, and how schools might increase students’ news consumption. Conclusions are based on empirical data from interviewing students along with the theoretical framework of Uses and Gratification Theory, the OMA-model, cultural capital, and curriculum theory, together with previous research within the field.This thesis establishes that students to the greatest extent consume breaking news and news that are being considered to have a personal impact on students’ lives. To consume news beyond breaking news and news with a personal impact the study suggests that news should be made more relevant to the students and students’ ability to understand news should be increased. Furthermore, the analysis highlights that by actively working with news in various ways within the educational sphere, schools might establish greater news consumption among students