In this master’s thesis, we examine the role and significance of media education in a time of
growing uncertainty in society, focusing on the elective subject in the final triad of primary
schools. The thesis answers the research question of how teachers of the subject Media
Education are familiar with and understand the functioning of the contemporary digital media
sphere. Media literacy research in our region focuses on young people and omits the perspective
of educators when it comes to media literacy. To fill the gap in this type of research and to better
understand this field, we used semi-structured interviews to investigate how teachers of the
subject Media Education understand the importance of media literacy and what is their role in
the field of literacy. We explore media education through three interrelated areas: teachers'
knowledge of the contemporary media sphere (including opportunities for professional
development, students' information practices and the problem of disinformation),
understanding media literacy and the accessibility and evaluation of strategies for strengthening
it at the national and European level, and the implementation of media education in primary
schools (its importance, goals, and influence on young people's critical thinking about
information). In this way, we caution that media education cannot be considered separately from
social and technological changes. We find that although teachers are not familiar with
theoretical models of the contemporary media sphere (such as the hybrid media system model),
they nevertheless mostly have an understanding of the complexity of the media that comprise
it. In addition, we note that teachers do not participate in media education training, and that the
subject of Media Education is not sufficiently linked to the everyday information practices of
students. Teachers remain a trustworthy source of knowledge, but at the same time they face
new problems such as generative artificial intelligence, "brainrot" content, and the emergence
of online influencers. Due to dissatisfaction with the curriculum and materials, they often
update the content themselves, relying primarily on the media and support from nongovernmental organizations. The main contribution of our research is that we broaden the
possible topics for discussion in media education, as we highlight its importance for the
development of critical thinking, media literacy, and, above all, the formation of autonomous
citizens capable of making informed decisions for the common good.
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