Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

The ability to critically access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages is crucial in the process of becoming an informed and engaged citizen throughout life. Asking critical questions is not only a valuable dimension of media literacy but also an indispensable aspect of participating in a democracy. Yet, measuring the effectiveness of media literacy remains a major challenge for the field. It is unclear to what extent people of all ages may engage in critical questioning habits with regard to media. To address this gap, we studied the changes in critical questioning habits among college-aged students enrolled in media literacy courses. To measure students’ media literacy inquiry, we evaluated the questions they posed in response to viewing an advertisement. We analyzed these questions by media literacy concept and by level of complexity before and after their participation in the courses. Findings revealed that after the media literacy courses, students’ inquiries were more complex and involved greater attention to key concepts related to production techniques and representations. Our study is significant as it reflects an innovative approach to media literacy assessment and offers a fresh perspective for examining the impact of media literacy on cultivating complex, critical thinking skills that can be applied with learners of all ages.

Through in-depth interviews with junior high school teachers in Hong Kong who participated in a media and artificial intelligence literacy program intervention, this research highlights the importance of prioritizing values and ethics education over technical proficiency when incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into media literacy training. While quantitatively assessing students’ literacy levels posed challenges, future media literacy programs should concentrate on introducing technological terminology and concepts, promoting awareness of potential issues, instilling values for responsible technology use, and fostering empathy to create a harmonious online environment. By focusing on fundamental values and key concepts rather than following fleeting AI trends, educators can empower students to navigate the digital media landscape effectively. Introducing such education among junior high school students, potentially involving parental education, is crucial for nurturing well-rounded digital citizens. The discussion thoroughly explores implications and recommendations for media literacy education programs, specifically in an AI era.

In the digital age, online teacher professional development (TPD) has become a key strategy for enhancing instructional quality and ensuring equitable access to continuous learning. This research compares and analyzes Chinese online teacher professional development (TPD) with the United States over a period of ten years, from 2014 to 2024. This study uses a mixed-methods approach based on policy documents, structured surveys, and interviews to investigate how governance regimes influence TPD outcomes for fair education. Both countries experienced a massive expansion of web-based TPD access and engagement, with participation rates over 75% and effectiveness scores over 4.3 by 2024. China focused on fast scaling by way of centralized mandates and investments in infrastructure, while the United States emphasized gradual expansion through decentralized, locally appropriate models. Most indicators had converged by the end of the period, even with these different approaches. Yet, qualitative evidence reveals persisting gaps in functional access and contextual appropriateness, especially in rural settings. Equality frameworks with attention to teacher agency, policy implementation, and digital usability must supplant weak access metrics. A hybrid paradigm presents itself as an attractive means toward building equitable and productive digital TPD environments through the symbiotic integration of China’s successful scalability and the United States’ professional autonomy.

This article analyzes the integration of media literacy into teacher education with a focus on comparative analysis of international experiences and local practices. In the digital era, media literacy is recognized as an essential component of teacher professionalism, enabling educators to critically evaluate information, create digital content, and foster responsible media use among students. The study highlights best practices from international contexts, including the United States, Finland, and Singapore, and compares them with the reforms and initiatives implemented in Uzbekistan. The analysis demonstrates that integrating media literacy into teacher training requires a systemic approach that combines curriculum reform, methodological innovation, digital infrastructure, and continuous professional development of educators.

The implementation of new curricula presents significant challenges for teachers and necessitates the adaptation of their professional competencies. This study examines how the digital skills of Swiss teachers differ during and after the implementation of the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) modular curriculum. To achieve this, two independent samples totaling 617 teachers were surveyed at different stages of the reform. The analysis employed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to identify differences in the four facets of MIL competence between the samples. The results indicate that MIL competencies did not improve uniformly. While no significant differences were found in the facets of ‘ICT knowledge and application’ and ‘media education knowledge and application’, significant differences were observed in the facets of ‘specialized didactics MIL’ and ‘interdisciplinary pedagogical and didactic knowledge’. The latter facet showed higher values after the reform, likely due to increased exposure to further training measures. These findings illustrate that teachers’ competencies can develop differently throughout a reform process, highlighting the importance of targeted professional development programs. The study provides valuable empirical findings for educational research and offers practical implications for the design of future reform processes.

This study examines the advantages and significance of integrating media literacy education into school curricula, highlighting its increasing role in education. In an age when misinformation spreads through social media, news outlets, and advertising, equipping students with the skills to recognize, analyze, and ethically engage with media has become essential. Despite growing academic and societal interest in media literacy, there remains a notable lack of rigorous research on its effective inclusion in secondary school syllabi. To address this gap, we reviewed existing literature and analyzed the curricula for 11th and 12th grades from India’s National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Using narrative analysis, we examined how media literacy education is integrated within these curricula, focusing on its objectives, pedagogical approaches, and assessment strategies. Our key findings emphasize aims such as enhancing media literacy and weaving it throughout the curriculum. Additionally, our review revealed significant inconsistencies across Indian curricula, including sporadic references to media concepts without clear progression or depth, and identified promising areas for development, such as the addition of dedicated modules on media literacy. These enhancements could greatly improve student learning by fostering deeper engagement with real-world issues, sharpening critical thinking through evidence-based reasoning, and promoting responsible digital citizenship—equipping adolescents for participation in a hyper-connected world. The study also highlights opportunities for educators and policymakers to incorporate media literacy components and prioritize media literacy education.

It investigates the relationship between Accountability and Autonomy

Rapid advancements in media and information technology have led to an increasingly complex and interconnected information landscape. Navigating this digital age requires critical thinking skills and a comprehensive understanding of media and information literacy (MIL). However, the definitions of MIL vary across contexts, disciplines, and cultures. This qualitative study describes and analyzes diverse definitions of MIL through an in-depth analysis of existing literature to shed light on nuanced perspectives within the field, as well as the peculiarities and similarities of the terms ‘media literacy’ and ‘information literacy.’ By delving into qualitative dimensions, the article contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the evolving landscape of media and information literacy. Study findings will contribute to the development of a unified and comprehensive understanding of MIL and facilitate the design of educational programs and policies to enhance media literacy skills among individuals across societies and age groups. This theoretical study is devoted to analyzing theoretical and conceptual definitions of Media and Information Literacy to uncover the wide-ranging aspects of the umbrella term.

The Media and Information Literacy (MIL) concept has been widely used by librarians and information and knowledge practitioners to refer to three often clearly distinguished literacies: media literacy, information literacy, and digital literacy. MIL empowers people to develop themselves and their societies through enhanced capacities in communication and information in the digital age. The complexity of the digital and information society demands that citizens and learners possess information and digital literacies and competencies for lifelong learning, civic engagement, democratic participation, sustainable societies, and building and nurturing trust in media. While MIL seeks to build and nurture critical thinking and understanding skills amongst the populace as they navigate the information society, its application in development initiatives leaves much to be desired in most countries in the Global South. This article explores how MIL can be embraced as a key enabler of community development and social justice initiatives and contributes to the ongoing debate on the centrality of media, technological change, innovation, and education in advancing social justice. The study adopts a multisectoral approach by bringing together different information and communication practitioners, educators, and communities to advance social justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. Guided by UNESCO’s five laws of Media and Information Literacy, the study employs a qualitative research approach through document analysis and key informant interviews with MIL leaders in selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Findings of the study contribute to strategies that can be used to integrate media and information literacy skills into community development initiatives.

Media literacy is not just a popular phrase but a necessity in the contemporary information society, particularly in evaluating information and combating disinformation. This article explores the critical role of higher education in improving students’ media literacy, with a particular focus on universities in Kosovo and North Macedonia. The research methodology employs a mixed approach, combining curriculum analysis, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews to examine current educational practices and institutional challenges. The results show that universities play a key role in developing critical thinking but face obstacles. However, they also have the power to overcome these obstacles. Recommendations include reforming curricula to integrate media literacy, improving teacher training, and promoting interdisciplinary approaches to empower students as informed and responsible participants in the media environment. In conclusion, the findings highlight the need for systemic support in education to develop analytical skills and an ethical attitude towards information in a digital context among young people.

This paper is intended to investigate the determinants of media information literacy by examining the skills of students belonging to the University of Jammu in July 2022. The focal point of the study is to identify the predictors of MIL by assessing students’ familiarity with various concepts of MIL and their level of MIL skills. MIL is studied through a scale having four parameters, with a 0.741 interclass correlation and a total reliability of 0.81. The majority of respondents demonstrated poor MIL skills, distinct from the self-reported MIL (W = 2386.5, p < 0.001, rB = 0.8). It was found that information literacy, computer literacy, and freedom of expression indirectly affect MIL, mediated by the capacities to create and evaluate information. Nevertheless, MIL is directly affected by information literacy.

The curricular integration of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is crucial for cultivating informed, critical, and engaged citizens in contemporary society. It assists in addressing the challenges of the digital era and capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the ever-changing media landscape. Thus, the present systematic literature review uses the PRISMA guidelines to examine three dimensions in the process of integration of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the prescribed curriculum: formulation, implementation, and evaluation and challenges. Starting with the search criteria, 131 studies were found in the Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Dialnet and Google Scholar databases, published between January, 2013, and March, 2023, written in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish. The findings suggest that the will of the political sphere and the activism of the triad composed by passionate teachers, civil society, and academia, are key factors for promoting the introduction of MIL in formal education. Likewise, it is underlined that the evaluation of this education policy requires special attention, in order to guarantee the analysis of its reach, effectiveness, and capacity to adapt against the challenges that emerge in the media ecosystem. Thus, the intention is to provide up-to-date information for the creation of policies, research studies, and curricular content on this subject.

This study explores the application of constructivist principles in the development of digital media literacy within higher education. Constructivism and digital media literacy share foundational elements, including active participation, critical thinking, contextual learning environments, and social collaboration. This research employs a qualitative approach through a literature review. Publications from 2014 to 2024 were selected based on their relevance to constructivist learning theory and digital media literacy, resulting in four core sources analyzed. The findings demonstrated that constructivist principles significantly contribute to the enhancement of digital media literacy skills, particularly in the areas of content creation, information management, digital publishing, and critical engagement. These competencies are essential for fostering independent, reflective, and responsible learners. The study concludes that constructivist-based approaches are vital for effectively integrating digital media literacy into higher education. To support this integration, it is recommended that universities embed digital media literacy into curricular frameworks and provide additional resources such as training programs through university libraries. These libraries, as central information hubs, can play a pivotal role in supporting students’ digital literacy development and promoting lifelong learning.

Purpose – Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education plays a crucial role in combating misinformation and disinformation in the digital era. This study explores an innovative pedagogical approach by integrating Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) into non-digital game-based learning to bridge gaps in MIL knowledge and skills among Malaysian secondary and tertiary students, while also addressing the digital divide. Given that current MIL interventions often rely solely on self-assessment, this study emphasizes the need for more objective assessment methods to measure actual learning outcomes. Methodology – A one-group pre-post-test mixed-methods research design was employed. A total of 95 participants from secondary and tertiary educational institutions in Malaysia engaged in an ELT-informed MIL board game intervention. The impact on MIL knowledge was assessed using a structured MIL knowledge test and a qualitative feedback survey. Findings – Results indicate that the intervention positively influenced MIL knowledge acquisition, as indicated by statistically significant improvements in post-test scores. Qualitative feedback further revealed enhanced understanding of MIL concepts, strengthened sense of responsible digital citizenship, and affirmation of the experiential game-based approach as an effective learning method. Significance – This study offers valuable insights into the application of ELT within non-digital game-based MIL education, particularly across diverse educational levels in Malaysia. It presents a scalable and cost-effective model for fostering critical thinking and ethical media engagement, offering practical recommendations for educators, community-based organisations, and policymakers in advancing MIL education nationwide.

Today, fostering media and information literacy (MIL) among citizens is essential for preserving democracy. The effectiveness of scalable interventions, particularly those employing lateral reading, a fact-checking heuristic, is well recognised. Our digital workshop, designed to model lateral reading from a user's perspective, has proven beneficial in educational settings and has garnered expert endorsement. Addressing recent scholarly calls to understand the underlying mechanisms of successful MIL interventions, our study is anchored in Cognitive Load Theory. We examine how different instructional modalities in our workshop influence engagement with lateral reading and how effectively it is executed. The study separates implicit text feedback and hands-on video instructions, previously combined, in a full-factorial design using a parallel-group RCT. We analysed the responses of 178 upper-secondary students in the online workshop and conducted a detailed video analysis of 30 students participating in a controlled environment at their schools. Our findings reveal that hands-on video instructions notably enhance both the engagement and effectiveness of the lateral reading heuristic. This study underscores the significance of a human-computer interaction perspective in designing more impactful media and information literacy interventions.

The social character of ethics is best revealed by exploring the complex dynamics linking individuals’ freedom to moral requirements. In this article, we consider James Laidlaw’s influential proposal that an anthropology of ethics makes freedom central to what is distinctively ethical in human life, but we argue that it unduly restricts the proposed scope of anthropology. This account of freedom is both overly cognitive, focusing on reflection, viewed as involving distance, decision, reasoning, and doubt, and too individualistic, downplaying the importance of freedom’s normative background and excluding from consideration many documented forms of ethical experience. We propose instead an alternative, more open-ended conceptualization of freedom, distinguishing a concept of freedom that differs from its widely varying conceptions, and drawing on ethnographic material from the Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan and elsewhere to illustrate multiple ways in which the constitution of selves and normative constraints impinge on one another.

Information literacy is a critical topic in contemporary pedagogy and information science. It is ranked among the essential competencies for the 21st century, and in recent years, it has received increasing research interest. The problem, however, is that research has focused mainly on primary and university (college) contexts and only rarely analyzed secondary school settings. This paper, therefore, focuses on a group of high school students and examines whether the literature’s idea of their needs corresponds to their actual needs. Based on the analysis of 32 documents indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, the paper identifies seven significant discursive areas addressed in the literature, both theoretically and empirically. These are: the relationship of libraries and librarians to the development of information literacy, information evaluation, the relationship of information literacy and learning competencies, connection with other competencies, emphasis on the constructivist approach, the social dimension of information literacy, and its possible use for self-actualization. These topics form a specific research discourse. In the second phase of the research, focus groups (8 groups in 4 schools, 41 students) on information literacy were studied through the seven essential discourses mentioned. Although our sample lacked reflections on the relationship between the library and high school students, the remaining six fundamental discourses appeared in the testimonies of high school students (libraries and librarians, evaluation of information, learning competencies, connection with other literacy, constructivist approach, the social dimension of information literacy, and information literacy as a means of self-actualization). The findings show that the main difference between literary discourse and student responses lies in the perception of libraries as centers of information literacy development, with students preferring the school or their teachers instead.

All theories of world creation, whether scientific, philosophical, or religious, can readily acknowledge the fact that humans have primarily evolved to engage with nature, the individual self, fellow human beings, society, and other naturalistic aspect of existence. Nevertheless, several novel challenges ascend when the human mind engages with technology, media, machines, and related concepts such as—ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, and to name a few. For that reason, we need philosophy and critical assessment of the uncovered essence of advanced technologies, media and machines and our way of life concerning them. In other words, protectively assessing their impact requires a thorough examination of ethical and existential concerns, including technology’s implications for freedom, AI’s evolving role, the essence of human being, and the unexamined transformative societal changes that follow. Building upon the premise that these phenomena share a common thread despite their apparent disparities, our interdisciplinary pursuit draws inspiration from philosophical luminaries such as Luciano Floridi, Karamjit S. Gill, David Kaplan, Aldous Huxley, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and Gandhi. Through philosophical insights, we explore the essence of technology and its broad effects, with a focus on its impact on human freedom and essence in both public and private domains.

This article has two objectives. The first is to conceptualise digital media literacy as a multi-dimensional concept by differentiating media content from media device. A broad range of skills is required to use digital media, and each dimension can be clarified by separating the device from the content. The second goal is to relate social exclusion to digital media literacy. How people use digital technology has long-term outcomes that could be either beneficial or disadvantageous. In the first part of the article, the multi-dimensional aspect of digital media literacy is discussed. Dimensions include the abilities to access, understand and create both in the area of device and content. The second part of the article discusses how social exclusion is related mostly to the third dimension of digital media literacy: the ability to create and participate.

This paper builds on the collaborative work of media researchers and professionals as well as education decision makers and teachers that met in Graz, 5- 7 December 2007, at the invitation of the Council of Europe. The purpose of the workshop was to determine the validity of media education and to verify that human rights could be an added value to such an education. Three main questions were debated, that built on each other: 1) “Which media literacy?” focused on an assessment of the various definitions of media education, trying to come to terms with the distinction between old and new media, old and new literacies. 2) “Which competences, skills, attitudes and values?” considered the core elements for developing coherent literacy training programmes and sought to identify the integration of human rights in current methods of teaching. 3) “How to develop these competences, skills, attitudes and values?” discussed concrete examples of best practice, especially those dealing with interactions between public and private sectors and old and new media. It also examined how to evaluate the efficacy of empowerment practices and policies, raising issues of awareness, self-regulation and the role of the state and of Intergovernmental Organizations such as the Council of Europe

The concept of critical media literacy expands the notion of literacy to include different forms of mass communication and popular culture, as well as deepens the potential of literacy education to critically analyze relationships between media and audiences, information and power. The authors argue that critical media literacy is crucial for participatory democracy in the twenty-first century, and that the only progressive option that exists is how to teach it, not whether to teach it. The article, first, explores the theoretical underpinnings of critical media literacy and demonstrates examples from community-based after school programs and an inner-city elementary school that received a federal grant to integrate media literacy and the arts into the curriculum.

Ideal for professors who want to provide a comprehensive set of the most important readings in the philosophy of technology, from foundational to the cutting edge, this book introduces students to the various ways in which societies, technologies, and environments shape one another. The readings examine the nature of technology as well as the effects of technologies upon human knowledge, activities, societies, and environments. Students will learn to appreciate the ways that philosophy informs our understanding of technology, and to see how technology relates to ethics, politics, nature, human nature, computers, science, food, and animals.

The Society of Control is a philosophical concept developed by Gilles Deleuze in the early 1990s to highlight the transition from Michel Foucault’s Disciplinary Society to a new social constitution of power assisted by digital technologies. The Society of Control is organized around switches, which convert data, and, in this way, exercise power. These switches take data inputs (digitized information about individuals) and transform them into outputs (decisions) based on their pre-programmed instructions. I call these switches “automated decision-making algorithms” (ADMAs) and look at ethical issues that arise from their impact on human freedom. I distinguish between negative and positive aspects of freedom and examine the impact of the ADMAs on both. My main argument is that freedom becomes endangered in this new ecosystem of computerized control, which makes individuals powerless in new and unprecedented ways. Finally, I suggest a few ways to recover freedom, while preserving the economic benefits of the ADMAs

Recent developments in European media policy have given priority to the notion that all citizens need to be digitally literate to fully participate in the emerging Information Society. Media literacy or digital literacy, it is argued, will be required to able to exercise informed choices, understand the nature of content and services and take advantage of the full range of opportunities offered by new communications technologies. Further, being media literate, citizens will be better able to protect themselves and their families from harmful or offensive material.

Free market capitalism is understood by most Americans as instrumental to the American dream, providing ordinary people with the economic means for their pursuit of happiness. The benefits of free enterprise, however, accrue increasingly to a small fraction of already wealthy high income earners, corporate shareholders, and business interests with a long, consistent, and well documented history of antagonism towards the interests of consumers, workers, society, and the natural environment. Emerging models of geopolitics, the economy, and the corporation suggest that this elitist, anti-regulatory posture of business is fast becoming obsolete as the value of human capital gains currency in the knowledge-driven, creative economy of the market state. The emergence of the market state can be viewed as a movement toward economic democracy, in which people expect accountability from business and free enterprise as a platform for achieving their goals and realizing their dreams.