Strategy for the Implementation of the Media Literacy in Basic Level Public Schools

Abstract

The transformations currently experienced by culture and communication, as a result of the accelerated development of technology and the society of interaction, make it necessary to review the way in which children and adolescents are educated. It is no longer enough to provide them with knowledge to develop socially and, later, work, because they need to learn to live and take care of themselves in an environment of digital media and internet in which they build a large part of their reality and identity. The purpose of this study was to design a strategy for the implementation of media literacy in public educational institutions at the basic level in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, through a diagnosis of media competencies in security matters, as a possible first step for its national implementation. The research was descriptive, quasi-experimental cut and mixed methodology. A survey was used to collect information. From the total of primary public schools in the metropolitan area, a sample of 298 schools was calculated of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. A quasi-experiment was also carried out with three control groups and another three treatment groups in which popular education techniques were applied, such as problematization, simple interview and video for social change. The results provided a profile of habits: 95% of the 15 830 students analyzed use social media, an average of almost two hours a day, mainly at home, in the afternoon and on a mobile device, such as a cell phone or tablet; 73% started in them between six and eight years of age. The favorite sites are: YouTube, Facebook and the WhatsApp, where they basically share videos, photographs, images and music. Of every 10 children and adolescents: three do not know the risks that exist in those platforms, four do not know of the preventive measures that they must take and six interact in networks alone and without supervision. Among the factors that determine the statistics are the scarcity of content in the subject in academic programs and the fact that both parents work in half of the homes. The security competencies were increased in the three groups intervened thanks to media literacy, so it is recommended to join the public primary schools through a cross-cutting strategy that involves the three branches of government, traditional media and new ones, and a pilot plan in the classrooms.