19 e 20 de novembro 2010: Brites, M. J. School newspapers as capital of political understanding. MEA/CSCYM Media Literacy Conference, Londres.

1. MLC 2010
London, 19th-20th November

2. “Article 13
1. The child shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all
kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing
or in print, in the form of art, or through any other
media of the child's choice.”

3.  “If news is to play a role in developing political
understanding, it surely cannot abandon its
responsibility to educate and to inform, and
researchers should continue to assess how far that responsibility
is being fulfilled” (Buckingham, 2006:19).
 “Rather than attempting to measure the effectiveness of news in
communicating political information, we should be asking how it
enables viewers to construct and define their
relationship with the public sphere. […] How do they
enable viewers to conceive of the relations between the
‘personal’ and the ‘political’? How do they invite viewers to make
sense of the wider national and international arena, and to make
connections with their own direct experience? How, ultimately,
do they establish what it means to be a ‘citizen’?” (Buckingham,
2006:18)

4.  The way in which citizens express their opinions about issues like
unemployment, racism and marriage could be seen as at least implicitly
political. Therefore we can think of a more inclusive notion of politics. The
traditional notion, more restricted to the actions of governments or political
parties, is an important dimension, but there is space for other attitudes and
behaviours of the daily experience and of the daily needs, questions and
problems (Bhavnani: 1991).
 “The central educational issue remains that of building connections between
these domains – between the ‘micro-politics’ of everyday life and
the ‘macro-politics’ of political institutions and of collective political
action” (Buckingham, 2006:34). If students can negotiate, they often
chose their preferred issues, like educational issues that affect
their daily life (Tomé, 2008: 398).

5.  We need to be aware of media dimension in its physical and virtual
dimensions, because media does not substitute the face-to-face
relationships, but can complement and reinforce communication.
“The communicative space is one of the key tensions that
democracy must creatively deal with” (Dahlgren, 2009: 116).
 “The definition of empowerment can be added to a definition
of education: it is a process, related to lifelong learning, a
‘journey to empowerment’ but that cannot morally be put on the
sole responsibility of the adult or the child as many structural and
economical parameters escapes the individual” (Frau-Meigs, 2008:
173).

6.  A school newspaper is not important in itself. We
considered the importance of its democratic quality, a
free expression, in the sense of Freinet (1974: 17). It is
not a question of access, but rather a question of uses.
A school newspaper can not only serve a traditional
pedagogy, but should prepare for lifelong needs (Freinet,
1974: 78)

7.  Manuel Pinto (1995) has identified tree advantages to
use newspapers at school:
◦ Didactical and pedagogical (classroom);
◦ Social and personal (contribute to cooperation among students,
reflection of the questions);
◦ Relationship between school and community (finding means to
get involved in community and contribute to a better
understanding of the world).

8.  Project Público at School (1990): Promotion of media uses at school
as resources of pedagogical innovation (students perceptions of their rights,
particularly towards media, and learning of civic reflection). Ministry of
Education. Support to teachers; bulletin and other publications.
Contest of school newspapers (print and online): ideas to stimulate new
publications and improve the existent ones.
 Media Education Project: Based in Castelo Branco (2007-2010).
CD Rom and material available to teachers. FCT project.
 In spite of the proliferation of the school newspapers in Portugal (Ribeiro
and Menezes, 2009: 69), they are mainly institutional, published by the
school, not always associated to a pedagogical process (Tomé, 2008: 134).

9.  13 interviews with young citizens that participate in school newspapers, tree
of them in this particular contest.
 Newspapers of secondary schools that participated in Público (reference
Portuguese newspaper) contest of school newspapers with the subject "Why
politics matters to us [young people]?" (in 2008/2009 school year). Selected
34 columns of 14 different titles.
 Are young people familiar with the social and political reality?
 Are the ideas of politics closer to the traditional view of politics in the school
newspapers sample?
 Why do they participate in a school newspaper?
 What are the perceptions about their roles in the production?
 Do they participate in other media?

10.  Unemployment/crises, education, politics, health and security are the most
mentioned issues.
◦ Issues related to micro-spheres (unemployment or fear of it and educational
issues)
 “The crisis… last year was one thing and in one year has
completely changed” (girl, 15, low income area).
 “The economic crisis has influenced everything, practically
monopolizes all government decisions, the way the Government is dealing
with it... is an option. I personally have not made a decision, but from what
I have seen is a good option” (boy, 18, member of a youth political party).
 “Perhaps unemployment. Not only by adults but by young
people, thinking in a future perspective. Also because of my
mother and also because I am worried about having a degree and being
unable to work on it” (girl, 16, from a rich area and School Parliament
Program).

11.  “I think social issue that caught my attention… well it
was bullying. Although already occurring for many
years, only now is being further explored. It is a reality
that has existed for many years. But only now it
has more attention, because we can watch that
on television” (girl, 16, from a rich area and School
Parliament Program).

12.  Among all columns, the most referred subjects
were the discredit towards politics, questions on
voting and specific subjects of school.
 Almost every newspaper is on the Internet. But it
is more like a pdf. They don't really take
advantage of the Internet 2.0.

13.  Voting is often related to discredit towards politics and also an
important subject towards a future regarding to youth expressions.
 “Young people disinterest in politics” (title)
 “Are we waiting for someone to Govern for Us?” (title)
 “A participation that is imperative” (title)
“Many educational reforms, a great concern with sex education, huge
appreciation on the concept
of the word citizenship,
[...] but nothing of political education.
Politicians are afraid that we open our eyes...” (quotation)

14.  The emotional factors that make a young citizen want to participate in a
school newspaper are diverse.
◦ Express opinions;
◦ Get recognized among peers and teachers;
◦ Contribute to a debate in school community;
◦ And get prepared to be a journalist.
 Gender differences:
◦ All boys (4) of my sample of interviewees produce opinion articles, while girls (9)
produce opinion and factual articles.
Have the chance to make a difference,
even in a small community

15.  “There is always a space for me, for a column. In the first edition of the
newspaper, I made an opinion article about the school in relation to society and
country.” (boy, 17, from a rich area and School Parliament Program)
 “The newspaper is like a training for the profession you want to have. This
is a good way to train a practical level writing, which has to be trained as there are
fatal errors. Once again reinforces my participation in elementary school, because
I have to go to events, writing and publishing. It also guides my opinion, because I also
write opinion pieces.” (girl, 16, rich area and School Parliament Program)
 “People read and comment.” (boy, 16, from a rich area and School Parliament
Program)

16.  Newspapers created by the students interviewees (school
newspaper, one from a student association and another from an
only class)
◦ Class newspaper: at first created by five students to discuss and have
opinion:
 “Now in school we barely have time or desire to discuss our ideas .
The newspaper gave each one of us the opportunity to talk about
everything. For example, I write something and, if someone doesn't agree,
can write back and give their opinion. We can better know each other.” (girl, 14,
low income area)
 Other newspaper (adulthood implication):
◦ “I was in school and classroom contexts, I had to be careful about
the meaning of the text we always need special care because we
are in a school. It can not be too open horizons.” (girl, 15, school
newspaper)

17.  Only one third of the interviewees had already participated in other
newspapers outside school (all of them were political activists)
 Two blogs (youth political party and a girl has a personal blog, that it’s updated
only often).
 Facebook (youth political party)
 “It is a panel [where he writes the weekly article], where young
people from the main political parties write. I write several times […].
It is a short column. This forces me to keep updated with the
news and read the news” (boy, 18, youth political party)

18.  All the interviewees were able to identify social and political issues, with a enlarged
view on politics.
 Ambivalent compromise/discredit with traditional forms of politics and also
preoccupations with vote, as an important nearby future, were main concerns found
on the columns.
 The possibility to take part in a newspaper is considered an opportunity to participate
and to have local voice and school context.
 Among the interviewees that participated in the contest (only 3), we could find the
idea that the school environment has somehow influenced the writing (newspaper
with strong teachers leadership).
 Only the young citizens more committed to political activities were invited to
participate in other media.
¯
 Promote school newspapers (of course also in online activities) made by students. It’s
more difficult task, but much more effective.
 Foster (genuine) online school newspapers.

19. Maria José Brites
britesmariajose@gmail.com
FCT/CIMJ and ULP
Thank you!