European Union media and information literacy (MIL) in education. The case of the EU member state Greece: going beyond the implementation of the Initiative “21st Century Skills Lab” (“Competencies Lab”) empowering learners as media and information literate future citizens under the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Abstract

This dissertation has been undertaken as a MSc dissertation thesis of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia (GREECE), in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, under the title: “European Policies on Youth, Entrepreneurship, Education and Culture”. In Chapter one of this dissertation, the conceptual framework of the ‘umbrella term’ Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is examined and the main underlying notions are identified: namely ‘media literacy’, ‘digital literacy’ and ‘information literacy’, as defined within the European perspective and the general approach of other global institutions such as UNESCO. In Chapter two, the MIL term is examined in Education and the main requirement enabling the beneficial framework of MIL in Education. In Chapter three, MIL in Education is focuses on Greece as an EU Member State. MIL implementation in Greek Education, examined in the framework of a pilot project ‘21st Century Skills Lab (Competencies Lab)’, is one starting point of the thematic field of this dissertation and the related researchable fields. For this purpose, an exploratory study has been conducted in a small representative sample of Greek Educators (60 participants) in order to reveal the pros and cons of MIL practices and possible perspectives in Greece. The collected quantitative data reveal the role of key elements of MIL. Moreover, the possible learning outcomes, when Teachers implement related to MIL actions, are examined and prioritized by participants in the study. It is an attempt to detect, through a small- representative sample of Greek Teachers, the pros and cons of MIL practices and possible perspectives. Chapter 4 and 5 present the results of the exploratory study and discuss the main remarks. MIL in Education is an innovative scientific field; therefore the development of MIL practices in Greece seems to be at a preliminary stage. Teachers participating in the current study consider MIL issues as a priority when implementing projects in classroom, whose main learning outcomes are connected to ‘Digital Skills’. Moreover, as for the general conceptualizing of MIL Education, participants supported holistic approach, including all of three notions of MIL. In terms of a future perspective, Teachers prioritize human rights as important educational idea of educational curricula of MIL Education. It is a vision, as it is becoming a ‘safety shield’ against challenges in the global ecosystem all over the world.

Keywords: Media and Information Literacy- MIL, MIL key elements ‘media literacy’, ‘digital literacy’, ‘information literacy’, MIL in Education.