Media education in Spain: Awareness, implementation, and challenges. The case of Catalonia

Abstract

This study analyses the current state of media education in Catalonia, its strengths and weaknesses, and the challenges it faces. In-depth interviews with five specialists and six teachers and educators were carried out. This qualitative approach offers key first-hand insight into the definition of the term ‘media education’; the relationship between media education and ethical journalism; core elements any media education programme should include, along with content, tools and guidelines for teachers; the level of expertise and training of teachers and specialists; the importance of student access to media education initiatives; and the challenges of media literacy. Results show that media literacy includes the ability to read and understand media languages and to create audiovisual messages independently and maturely, and to take certain ethical principles into consideration; and that the media companies should take their responsibilities seriously, since it is they that create images and role models that have a great impact on children and teenagers – while children and teenagers, on the other hand, demonstrate a very positive response to media literacy initiatives. The specialists and educators interviewed have different levels of training and have been involved in a variety of projects. They note that key challenges for media literacy include lack of interest from the authorities, lack of training among teachers, and the need for incentivisation and easy-access resources for educators.