Educational responsibilities of the media : from critique to possibility

Abstract

This work is an attempt at expounding a comprehensive study of media education. It provides an answer to the question; Why teach about the media? First by examining the expansion and development of the media and secondly by considering the ideological importance of the media, reviewing classical media theories. The teaching of the media through a critical pedagogy is proposed, calling for teachers to act as transformative intellectuals and for teaching to be carried out in a non-hierarchal teacher/student relationship through the process of dialogue. Finally, and hopefully, this language of critique will develop into a language of possibility. Thus the media are seen as responsible in helping the citizen's active participation in a truly democratic society.