Media Literacy Education Works

Digital citizenship helps learners build the essential tools and habits necessary to thrive in a digital world, while navigating priority areas such as privacy, artificial intelligence and emerging technology, well-being, cyberbullying, and information and media literacy.

And there has never been a more urgent need for media literacy skills. This year, across the globe, more voters than ever in history will head to the polls. According to TIME magazine, the UK and at least 64 countries will hold national elections, the results of which, for many, will prove consequential for years to come.

Voters in election seasons are often bombarded by information, including misinformation and disinformation, and these millions of voters need to be prepared to make informed choices. At Common Sense, we believe it is critical to help kids understand these issues from an early age. Our groundbreaking K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum developed for use in both the US and the UK, as well as our other free school and family resources, present opportunities to introduce core concepts of digital citizenship from as young as 4 years old, preparing children for their future roles as citizens of our digital world.

In response to an opportunity from the UK Government Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), Common Sense partnered with the London School of Economics (LSE), which conducted a first-of -its-kind independent evaluation of the Common Sense UK Digital Citizenship Curriculum, by implementing pilot studies in four schools in the UK for students age 6 to 16.

The evaluation was designed to analyze just how effective digital citizenship education—which includes media and AI literacy—can be in helping students build the skills they need to become smarter and savvier around misinformation, as well as other digital dilemmas.

Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the LSE evaluation of our UK curriculum:

• Students really valued our media literacy resources—and it didn't take long to see impact.

  Both teachers and students felt very positive about our curriculum and shared in their own words that the lessons were often "engaging and interesting." Many students were eager for more, recognizing the power these tools can enable for their lives and well-being.

  Moreover, students across all schools and age groups consistently improved after as little as six weeks of being taught our curriculum.

• Media literacy can be a powerful tool to address misinformation and disinformation.

  The focus on topics like digital safety, online etiquette and internet culture, and media ownership within the curriculum were key in helping young people build the skills to identify and respond to misinformation.

• The digital divide in access and knowledge remains a barrier to media literacy, and interventions must consider differences among student backgrounds.

  Students from "media rich" and "digitally experienced" households demonstrated a more intuitive grasp of how to navigate digital tools, while those from less experienced households faced a steeper learning curve, impacting their engagement and the benefit drawn from digital citizenship interventions in schools.

• Learning design drives engagement.

  Approaching topics with curiosity, playfulness, and self-reflection can influence the outcomes of teaching and learning with the materials. The most effective learning environments are characterized by the embedding, resourcing, and scaffolding of digital literacy at all key stages.

• Educators—and support from the greater school community—are vital to success in teaching media literacy.

  Teachers matter: They foster enriching discussions and support students who have lower initial knowledge about or interest in digital citizenship. Consistency in how schools integrate the teaching of digital citizenship is important in ensuring that teachers are confident in delivering the lessons.

• Importantly, this research revealed that media literacy education works best when supported by the entire ecosystem. Stakeholders across schools, academia, governments, regulators, foundations, and beyond have key roles to play to help address some of the core challenges and opportunities facing children in the digital world.

Our overall recommendations for the ecosystem:

• Governments and policymakers can help children navigate the 21st century by identifying, recommending, and even supporting the best resources to maximize learning outcomes for students and teachers. Our Digital Citizenship Curriculum has proven incredibly effective in meeting these goals. We can also be most effective by pairing media literacy education with ongoing support for policy and regulatory solutions that enforce accountability in the tech industry.
  
  
• Foundations, researchers, and partners should invest not only in further understanding the impact of media literacy, but also in scaling its outcomes. LSE's report demonstrates that media literacy tools to mitigate mis/disinformation, AI risks, online safety, and digital well-being offer a clear return on investment. Common Sense is proud to be embarking on this education journey with the NSPCC in the UK.
  
  
• Educators and school administrators should prioritize integrating media literacy into their curricula for children as young as 5 through workshop-style digital citizenship lessons in primary and secondary schools. They should also pair classroom instruction with regular professional development for teachers, and annual digital literacy training for parents for a whole-community approach.

Read the full report here. And for more on our Digital Citizenship Curriculum and resources, visit www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship.

This article references our executive summary of LSE-Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum Evaluation Report, written by Dr. Fiona Abades Barclay and Professor Shakuntala Banaji of the London School of Economics.