SOME ASPECTS OF TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY TO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN SLOVENIA - FROM A PERCEPTION STANDPOINT OF TEACHERS AND PARENTS

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky

This paper examines media literacy as a multidimensional skill held by both parents and teachers, emphasizing its media-technical dimension and the beliefs that adults form about children’s exposure to media. It further analyzes teachers’ media-didactic competence as an element of educators’ media literacy. Using an empirical approach, the study compares parents’ and educators’ mediatechnical competence with educators’ media-didactic competence, finding strong agreement about media’s everyday presence and instructional importance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Media literacy and the role of adults

Volume 4, Number 2-3, 2011 SOME ASPECTS OF TEACHING MEDIA LITERACY TO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN SLOVENIA FROM A PERCEPTION STANDPOINT OF TEACHERS AND PARENTS Jurka Lepičnik Vodopivec Abstract. This paper deals with media literacy as a multidimensional skill that parents and teachers possess. In this context we warn of the media-technical aspect of this skill and, within this aspect, of parents’ and teachers’ opinion on the presence of media in children’s lives. Following that, the paper explores teachers’media-didactic competence as a component of educators’media literacy. In the empiric part we used two aspects of fostering media literacy. One is the mediatechnical competence of parents and educators, while the other is the media-didactic competence of educators. We found that both parents and teachers believe that media have a strong presence in everyday lives of pre-school children and that they play an important role in teaching pre-schoolchildren. Teachers are aware of the importance of early teaching with media, for media and about media with the purpose of developing children’s media literacy, so they will not be afraid of media when they grow up. Key words: teachers, parents, kindergarten, media literacy, media-technical and media-didactical aspect of competences. Introduction Nowadays life without media is practically unimaginable, as they follow almost every step we make. Children’s first contact with print media occurs during their pre-school phase, even though they cannot read or write yet. Similarly, children often come into contact with the radio and other audio media, such as cassette and CD players. These media play an important role, especially before going to sleep (bedtime stories), when they substitute live reading by adults. Sadly, however, they cannot develop the trust, affection, joy and exploration of fairy tale worlds that can only be achieved in communication between two people. In addition, television is becoming one of the most important media. According to data by Erjavec and Volčič (1999), before reaching school age, children spend between 5,000 and 6,000 hours watching TV, which amounts to 20 hours per week. This information should not be taken lightly. If we consider that during the pre-school period children are sensitive, suggestible, and strongly susceptible, that they learn through imitation, and that they identify themselves with real and imaginary characters, it becomes all the more important for adults to help children make the right choices and adopt a critical approach to media contents, so children can, based on their abilities, skills and development stage, develop tools for accepting, shaping and using relayed information. Media literacy and the role of adults Considering the influence that media have on the modern way of life, it is impossible to expect that limiting their use or prohibiting children from using media achieve its purpose. How to make children select, evaluate and use media and their messages has been known for a long time: by teaching them skills and competences, such as reading, writing and media literacy, by educating them to become critical readers, viewers, listeners and information users and ultimately, by giving them the opportunity to develop their own aesthetic perception and to sharpen their taste. In this context Meschenmoser (2002) defines media literacy as an individual’s multidimensional competence that encompasses media-technical competence, knowledge management skills, competence to make one’s own decisions and democratic competence. According to the author, this definition of media literacy includes the following: • “the ability to internalise knowledge and develop skills that were acquired in communication with others, through use of different media, through accepting individual knowledge and information and through dedicated use and the aesthetic dimension of media, • the ability to responsibly manage one’s own and knowledge and th

FAQs

What is the focus of the paper on media literacy?

The paper treats media literacy as a multidimensional competence and highlights both the media-technical aspect and the media-didactic role of educators.

How does the study evaluate adults’ competence in fostering media literacy?

It uses an empirical part with two aspects: mediatechnical competence of parents and educators, and media-didactic competence of educators.

What do teachers and parents believe about media for preschool children?

Both teachers and parents believe media have a strong presence in children’s everyday lives and play an important role in teaching preschool children.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky