VIEWS OF TURKISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS ON MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to present the assessments of Turkish and Social Studies teachers on the media literacy education that they instruct to the attention of the concerned individuals. Qualitative research method was used in the study. Data obtained with the "Semi-structured Opinion Reporting Form" were analyzed with the "Content Analysis" technique.
The results concerning the assessments of Turkish and Social Science teachers on the media literacy education process could be summarized as follows:
It was determined that 98.6% of the Turkish and Social Studies teachers that communicated their views considered media literacy education essential. Although almost all the teachers considered media literacy education course essential, it was determined that they faced significant problems during the instruction of the course. In this respect, the primary problems experienced by the teachers during media literacy education were inadequate tools and equipment, indifference of the administrators and the students towards media literacy education, and lack of adequate knowledge on the course content.
The vast majority of teachers stated that the media literacy course should be instructed in classrooms with adequate course material / equipment and with student-oriented methods and techniques.
It was also determined that 88% of the teachers, who communicated their evaluations, reported that they could not instruct the course under desired conditions because they did not have sufficient tools for media literacy edcaution in their respective educational institutions.
These findings demonstrated that media literacy education, which was prioritized in leading countries in education for several years, is still ignored in Turkey. The findings were significant in the sense that they demonstrated the lack of readiness in public educational institutions for media literacy education course even in 2017 and that this elective course is not considered as a required course