Empowering Media Literacy Skills : Enhancing Student Teachers’ Awareness of New Literacy Competencies in Teacher Education

Abstract

In teacher education, it is crucial to enhance the awareness and understanding of new literacy skills among student teachers, as teachers transmit cultural values through their teaching. Teachers are responsible for defining the knowledge and skills that students can acquire in schools. This study investigates student teachers' awareness of new literacy competencies as a part of the educational and teaching role of schools and teachers. The study employs qualitative content analysis as the research method, and the data analyzed are opinion pieces generated by 37 student teachers enrolled in a media literacy course. The study aims to examine how student teachers identify new literacy skills and their significance. The findings reveal that new literacy and media literacy, along with their interconnectedness, are identified and perceived as significant by student teachers, particularly for promoting students' safe, responsible, and well-rounded relationship with media. The study suggests that creating a secure and empowering connection with media is a shared educational responsibility that necessitates the active participation of both schools and families.