Research on the impact of two media literacy programs in an American high school shows that media literacy contributes to civic engagement.

1. Media Literacy and Adolescent Civic Engagement: Report from the Field Hans Martens Renee Hobbs Shay Taylor Montgomery Blair High School Presentation at the National Association for Media Literacy Education, July 24, 2011

2. Goals for this Session Learn about how media literacy is integrated into a high-functioning American high school Share research results examining the relationship between news analysis and civic engagement Explore the opportunities and challenges of empirical research in media literacy education

6. Blair Network Communications (BNC)

7. Selective Admission Programs Communication Arts Program (CAP) Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Magnet Program Open Admission Programs Media Literacy Entrepreneurship International Studies and Law Human Service Professions Science, Math and Technology

8. Communication Arts Program (CAP)

9. Communication Arts Program (CAP) GRADE 9 INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS The projects synthesize information from various disciplines into comprehensive presentations that highlight the events of the era assigned. MOVIE REVIEWS Each quarter the students will watch a movie in the auditorium that relates to the historical period focused on in History class. They write a movie review and for homework, watch movies from a list compiled by the faculty. CRITICAL THINKING PAPER The project entails an in depth argument and analysis for a major social issue facing humanity. A comprehensive program that connects the humanities to the media, now in its 24th year

10. Communication Arts Program (CAP) Crystal Ball Students research demographic and voter characteristics and then predict the Presidential, US Senate, US House of Representatives, and gubernatorial races throughout the United States. Critical Thinking Essay The Critical Thinking Essay requires students to select an issue of national importance and write a persuasive essay arguing one side of that issue, supported by documented and cited sources. In 10th grade, each student will support the issue from the side opposite to the one advocated in the 9th grade essay CAP Congress – Foreign Policy Students research foreign policy issues concerning seven “hotspots” from around the world, draft resolutions, debate the issues, and prioritize the foreign policy needs of the US. CAP Court Students hold mock trials on court cases drawn from each of the four 10th grade subjects: English, Government, Journalism and Media. Students will act as lawyers trying the case and also role-play the defendants and witnesses. GRADE 9 INTERDISCIPLINARY

12. Open Admission Programs

13. MEDIA LITERACY ACADEMY Students in the Media Literacy Academy develop the ability to read, analyze, evaluate, and produce communications in written text, moving images, still images, and sound. Students will learn to read critically, interpret analytically, communicate effectively, and produce messages for both meaning and persuasion. Any field involving art, music, film, radio, video, television, theater, literature, journalism, or photography requires an understanding of effective communication.

16. Research Design Quasi-experimental study 2 x 2 factorial Treatment Media Literacy No ML CAP ML ACADEMY CONTROL CONTROL Academy Level Open Selective Admission Admission

17. MEASURES To distinguish between students’ actual use of the Internet and their motives for using the Internet to seek information, we first asked respondents to identify how much they use the Internet on an 8-point scale ranging from never to every day. Internet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

19. to see what is out there

20. to keep up with current events and issues

21. because it provides me with a new and interesting way to do research Internet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

23. get information about candidates before voting in an election

24. join a political party

25. writeletters to a newspaper about social or political concerns

26. be a candidate for a local or city office

27. volunteertime to help poor or elderly people in the community

28. collect money for a cause

29. collect signatures for a petition, and participate in a peaceful rally or protest. A 4-point scale was used, scaled as certainly will not do, probably will not do, probably will do, and certainly will do. Internet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

31. identify the target audience & explain what specific information from the reading supports your answer

32. identify the message purpose

33. identify what techniques were used to attract and hold attention

34. list some different points of view presented

35. Identify omitted informationScores were summed to form an additive index which ranged from 14 to 0. Internet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

37. identify the message purpose

38. Identify the ad’s implied message or subtext

39. identify what techniques were used to attract and hold attention

40. list some different points of view presented

41. Identify omitted informationScores were summed to form an additive index which ranged from 14 to 0. Internet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

43. recognize the most common kind of economic control over mass media

45. Newspapers make most of their money through the price paid by the consumers who buy themInternet use Information Motives (U&G) Civic Engagement News Analysis Ad Analysis Media Knowledge

46. TheoreticalFramework Media literacyeducation ->activelyconsuming and producing media messages ->seek out information on relevant issues, evaluate the quality of information available, engage in online publishing, debate and more RQ1: Are differences media knowledge and media analysis skills associated with participation in a media literacy program?

47. TheoreticalFramework Media literacycompetencies ->notequallydistributedamong adolescents ->variety of both informal and formal learning experiences as well as through family, peer, social class and other influences RQ2: Are differences in media knowledge and media analysis skills associated with student’s academic level?

48. TheoreticalFramework Motivationsfor digital media use ->Putnam: Decline in civic engagement ->Uses and gratifications research: Differential media effects. Informational media use patterns are positively related to civic engagement. RQ3: What is the relationship between participation in a ML program, Internet use, information motivation, media literacy and civic engagement?

49. Data Analysis Comparison of means

50. Data Analysis Comparison of means ->Students in the Selective Admission Program score better on measures of media knowledge and media literacy than students in the Open Admission Program

51. Data Analysis Comparison of means ->In both the Open Admission Program and the Selective Admission Program, the ML group scores better than the other group on media knowledge and media literacy measurements

52. Data Analysis ->Both educational level and participation in a media literacy program influence media knowledge and media literacy measurements

53. Data Analysis Correlation matrix

54. Data Analysis Correlation matrix ->Academy level is positivelyrelatedwithinformationmotive, media knowledge, newsanalysis and ad analysis. Note the negativerelationwithfrequency of Internet use

55. Data Analysis Correlation matrix ->Participation in a ML program is positivelyrelatedwith media knowledge, newsanalysis and ad analysis

56. Data Analysis Correlation matrix ->Frequency of Internet use is negativelyrelatedwithinformationmotive, media knowledge, newsanalysis, and ad analysis

57. Data Analysis Correlation matrix -> Informationmotive is positivelyrelatedwithnewsanalysis

58. Data Analysis Correlation matrix ->Media knowledge, newsanalysis, and ad analysis are positivelyrelatedbutdistinctconstructs

59. Data Analysis Multiple regression

60. Data Analysis Multiple regression ->Participation in a ML programindependentlycontributes to civic engagement

61. Data Analysis Multiple regression -> Aftercontrollingforgender, academy level, and ML program, informationmotive, media knowledge and newsanalysiscontribute to civic engagement

63. RQ2: Are differences in media knowledge and media analysis skills associated with students’ academic level?

65. Limitations of the Study Research design: no random assignment to condition unobserved factors may be causing the differences between the two groups What led to some people to select the ML treatment and others not? Link between instructional treatment and outcomes what specific dimensions of the learning environment contributes to skills of news analysis and media knowledge? Need for additional measures what about media production? broader patterns of media use? how should we measure civic engagement in a digital age?

67. Next Steps: Research Agenda What are the next questions that need to be answered about the relationship between media literacy and civic engagement?

68. Renee Hobbs Email: renee.hobbs@temple.edu Hans Martens Email: Hans.Martens@ua.ac.be