To become and to act media literate is one of the most important aims of the media socialization process. Media literacy is considered as a key qualification, a task for society as a whole, an 'important prerequisite' for the use of media that reflects opportunities and minimizes risks (UNESCO 2016), and as a supplement to traditional cultural techniques. It 'is a basic necessity of modern life' (Buckingham 2019: 39). In order to make the relevance of media literacy clear, UNESCO has formulated 'Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy', in which it demands, among other things, recognition of the right to produce media ('Every citizen is a creator of information/knowledge and has a message') and access to media ('Every citizen wants to know and understand new information, knowledge and messages as well as to communicate, even if she/he is not aware, admits or expresses that he/she does.') (Grizzle & Singh 2016).
Besides the individual itself parents, peers, and teachers mediate media literacy (Hurrelmann & Bauer 2018). Teachers as agents are particularly important when other instances cannot or do not want to mediate these skills. The acquisition of media literacy at school has so far rarely been considered in communication research. When it is, studies focus on, for example, the media literacy of children or parents’ media literacy mediation. The proposed presentation deals with this desideratum. It asks:
RQ 1: From a teacher's perspective, who should mediate media literacy?
RQ 2: Which framework conditions determine the mediating of media literacy in German schools?
RQ 3: How can media literacy be improved at German schools?
To answer these research questions, we conducted qualitative interviews with 35 high school teachers in Bavaria and Thuringia. The interview guideline based on the theoretical assumption (media literacy skills, mediation within socialization process: responsibilities, framework conditions, and challenges). All interviews were transcribed word-by-word and analyzed by using a theory-driven approach.
Results show that teachers are well aware of their responsibility to mediate media literacy (RQ1). However, they emphasize that this is a common task for all socialization agents and that parents are important for the acquisition of media literacy. They should not delegate their responsibility only to schools. The voluntary nature of media education is the main problem (RQ2). It is not an obligatory part of the curriculum in every German federal state, and if so, the implementation depends on the objectives of each school and the commitment of for media education responsible subject teachers. Moreover, the curriculum is not geared to the abilities of the students; they need less technical knowledge than the teaching of self and social skills. In addition, the technical equipment of the schools is often outdated and technical support is lacking. Therefore, teachers would like to see two changes: a binding media education (e.g., in one subject media) and training and further education, which should also be obligatory for all teachers. Only then would they feel well prepared for their task of teaching media literacy to students.