Policy and practice: United States and European Union media and technology education

2012-07-13“Policy and Practice: United States and European Union Media and Technology Education” examines the steps policymakers take to employ media literacy legislation and how such policies are often at odds with the strategies and methods practitioners and scholars promote. I compare the U.S. and E.U. education policies and practices, specifically for media and technology, over the last 50 years. Analyzing the historical context, I provide a lens with which to better understand the U.S. government’s current focus on globally competitive technological literacy, as opposed to the European Union’s more comprehensive media literacy policy. I argue that media and technology literacy as an outcome is discussed as a neoliberal policy strategy in which the individual must learn to self-regulate his or her media intake due to government deregulation and also learn a digital skillset to compete in the global workforce. However, the process of effectively teaching media and technology literacy does not comply with education policy strategies that focus on individualism and standardization. Instead such practices reinforce collaboration, experimentation, and critical thinking. ❧ This dissertation addresses the political-economic and institutional support that often gets taken for granted when studying media literacy. A top down perspective of how media education is being addressed at the international and national policy levels and the various networks of private sector support corresponds with a bottom up perspective that emphasizes how a single teacher or small nonprofit organization can have an impact on not only how media education gets taught but also the political-economic system that supports such an education. I demonstrate how effective media and technology education is taught and defined through an observational study and interviews in order to ultimately provide recommendations for United States and European Union policy and practice