Media literacy in moroccan schools: An analysis of student awareness, teacher understandings and textbook content.

Abstract

This study examines the state of media literacy in Morocco by employing a multimethod approach. To that end, we used a questionnaire to assess students’ (N = 700) awareness of the media literacy, an interview to gather teachers’ (N = 40) perspectives on the concept of media literacy in the educational domain, and content analysis to examine the concept’s availability in textbooks (N = 28) used to teach Arabic, French, and English in primary, middle and high schools. The results show that students know little about the concept, are not well-versed in media literacy, and use various media outlets without being critically briefed on their risks. Meanwhile, teachers recognize the importance of media literacy in assisting students in deconstructing media messages and identifying fake news and misinformation. To be successful in teaching media literacy, teachers postulate that they need to be well-trained and develop a professional attitude to media literacy in order to ensure a coherent and efficient implementation of the concept, and for this, they call for pedagogical materials. The results show that the pedagogical resources under study did not include courses, activities, or separate units on media literacy. Instead, the pedagogical material contained isolated and relegated lessons on the functions and effects of media and information technologies. We believe that three obstacles prevent media literacy integration in Morocco: students’ lack of awareness, teachers’ lack of professional development, and insufficient school pedagogical support. In sum, this study provides an opportunity to