Social media has provided challenges and opportunities for education for democracy. There have always been structural elements of communication that are hidden and perpetuate inequalities. Social media has accelerated and empowered these hidden structures through algorithms. In this argumentative essay, we examine how critical media literacy can…

In this article, I examine how forms of new media, or social and digital media (SDM), can serve as conduits of participatory democracy while, at the same time, perpetuate the cannibalization of a cornerstone of democracy: public schools. I discuss how this new era of unprecedented access to content creation and dissemination has opened spaces and…

Developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) add urgency to the claim that democracy requires media literate citizens. The purpose of this paper is to support media engagement by youth in a context characterized by the spread of misinformation through the very technologies that promise to democratize public debate. Rejecting…

In this article, I discuss the academic field of adult education as it relates to critical media literacy, critical public pedagogy, social and civic activism, and higher education in this era many have labeled "post-truth." I ask readers to reconsider the traditional university tenure process and the academic publishing industry as…

An examination in the classroom of well-chosen tweets not only illustrates how social media engages citizens in participatory democracy, but can spark enriching debates on current events.

A well-informed populace is vitally important for the proper functioning of democracy. Media news articles constitute an essential means by which the public comes into contact with scientific issues. However, not all of the scientific information presented in news articles is trustworthy or accurate. Naturally, the situation becomes more…

Information technology is a tool, and its effects on global citizenship education (GCED) depend on who uses the technology, how it is employed, and for what purpose. In theory, technology use "could" provide significant benefits toward achievement of GCED goals. Globalization has demanded an educational response -- to prepare the young…

In the wake of the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing public attention has been paid to the ability of citizens to use and understand news media, information, and digital technology. Conversations about media literacy--the ability to critically engage with media--are ongoing in the press, schools, and…

This paper discusses the work of Noam Chomsky in the context of democracy, the media, and education. Through the analysis of selected works, a critical perspective emerges. This view demands that educators at all levels understand and confront the often deleterious effects the media can have on students' social and political views and further how…

Henry A. Giroux is well known for pushing the definitions of education. From his early forays into what has been termed the "New Sociology of Education" in the early 1980s to his more recent discussions of "public pedagogy", Giroux has methodically challenged existing orthodoxies. This essay will focus on the interdisciplinary broadening of…

The National Council for the Social Studies Position Statement on Media Literacy argues that media literacy can facilitate participatory democracy if students' interest in media is harnessed. The statement conceives of media technology as neutral and under-conceptualizes socializing aspects of media technologies that foster atomized individualism.…

Ontario's new Character Development Initiative is analyzed to determine whether it can be characterized as political spectacle. Examination of official policy texts, media reports, speeches, web pages, webcasts, and events at the Character Development Symposium suggests that the Initiative contains many elements of political spectacle; however,…

In this article, we define and provide some history of "critical media literacy" (CML) in education. We then place critical media literacy in context of our current "post-truth" era. Next, we describe some of the consequences of adults' addiction to two decades of expanding, omnipresent new media to explain why we, like…

As political division and polarization continually increases in the United States, civic knowledge faces decline. Journalism education provides a potential remedy for these democracy-endangering harms by imparting valuable instruction regarding civics and the role of the media in society. However, with no standardization in the country, individual…

This article presents a review of interdisciplinary scholarship on digital citizenship with 3 different approaches: unidimensional, multidimensional, and critical/radical approaches. By addressing the intersectionality as a critical framework and inquiry, this article advances the concept of digital citizenship effectively responding to the…