scholarly journals Investigation of The Effect of Pre-Service Classroom Teachers’ Critical Thinking Disposition on Their Media Literacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Özkan Çelik ◽  
Halil Çokçalişkan ◽  
Alper Yorulmaz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Critical Thinking Disposition ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Media ◽  
Thinking Disposition

<span lang="EN-US">It is important to develop a critical perspective in terms of interpreting the messages to be given to the individuals through media and questioning the authenticity and content of these messages. It is therefore necessary to train the individuals called media literate who can critically perceive and evaluate the information conveyed through the media to increase the positive effects of the media and to reduce their negative effects as much as possible. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of the pre-service teachers’ critical thinking disposition on their media literacy. The study employed the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods. In order to collect data, a personal information form, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, and the Media Literacy Level Determination Scale were used as the data collection tools. As a result of the study, the critical thinking disposition of the pre-service teachers was found to be medium and their media literacy was found to be high. The critical thinking disposition was found to be varying significantly depending on their gender and grade level; their media literacy was found to be varying depending on grade level but not on gender. There is a positive but low relationship between critical thinking disposition and media literacy and critical thinking is a significant predictor of media literacy.</span>

scholarly journals Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories about the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania? An Analysis of Conspiracy Theories Believers’ Profiles

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Raluca Buturoiu ◽  
Georgiana Udrea ◽  
Denisa-Adriana Oprea ◽  
Nicoleta Corbu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
News Media ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Critical Thinking Disposition ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
The Media ◽  
Thinking Disposition

The current COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by the circulation of an unprecedented amount of “polluted” information, especially in the social media environment, among which are false narratives and conspiracy theories about both the pandemic and vaccination against COVID-19. The effects of such questionable information primarily concern the lack of compliance with restrictive measures and a negative attitude towards vaccination campaigns, as well as more complex social effects, such as street protests or distrust in governments and authorities in general. Even though there is a lot of scholarly attention given to these narratives in many countries, research about the profile of people who are more prone to believe or spread them is rather scarce. In this context, we investigate the role of age, compared with other socio-demographic factors (such as education and religiosity), as well as the role of the media (the frequency of news consumption, the perceived usefulness of social media, and the perceived incidence of fake information about the virus in the media) and the critical thinking disposition of people who tend to believe such misleading narratives. To address these issues, we conducted a national survey (N = 945) in April 2021 in Romania. Using a hierarchical OLS regression model, we found that people who perceive higher incidence of fake news (ß = 0.33, p < 0.001), find social media platforms more useful (ß = 0.13, p < 0.001), have lower education (ß = −0.17, p < 0.001), and have higher levels of religiosity (ß = 0.08, p < 0.05) are more prone to believe COVID-19-related misleading narratives. At the same time, the frequency of news consumption (regardless of the type of media), critical thinking disposition, and age do not play a significant role in the profile of the believer in conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic. Somewhat surprisingly, age does not play a role in predicting belief in conspiracy theories, even though there are studies that suggest that older people are more prone to believe conspiracy narratives. As far as media is concerned, the frequency of news media consumption does not significantly differ for believers and non-believers. We discuss these results within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Examination of Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Levels of Teacher Candidates in the Age of Global Communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 600-612
Author(s):  
elif selcan öztay
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Thinking Skill ◽  
Critical Thinking Skill ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
The Media

The media and mass media, which are used extensively in our age, affect individuals in terms of political, cultural, economic and education. The correct and critical use of media requires media literacy and critical thinking skills, among 21st-century skills. Individuals with these skills are required to interpret, evaluate and analyze the information obtained through mass media with a critical perspective. The concept of media literacy is an interdisciplinary concept that falls under the scope of both communication sciences and educational sciences. The aim of the study is to reveal the media literacy and critical thinking skill levels of teacher candidates and the relationship between media literacy and critical thinking skill levels. The survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. The study sample consists of 185 Science, Turkish and Classroom teacher candidates studying at different grade levels in the education faculty of a state university in the 2018-2019 academic year. Data were collected using a personal information form, Media Literacy Scale and Critical Thinking Tendency Scale. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to look at the normality of the distributions, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test to look at the difference between the variables were used. As a result of the study, it was found that pre-service teachers’ media literacy and critical thinking skills did not show a significant difference according to gender, duration of internet use and the primary function they sought in TV programs. In addition, while the critical thinking skill level of the pre-service teacher does not differ according to the grade level and department, the media literacy skill levels of the pre-service teachers vary according to the grade level and department. In terms of social media tools, it was found that pre-service teachers with high critical thinking levels preferred to use Twitter more, while pre-service teachers with high media literacy levels preferred Twitter and Facebook. In addition, it has been determined that there is a statistically positive relationship between critical thinking and media literacy levels.

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